Fighting All Odds
by Kaara
Summary: Discontinued. Naruto decided that it was time for him to be stronger, and unexpectedly, Ino came along and offered him her 'friendship'. Then, there was Kyuubi and his own revenge. And who were those mysterious genin hovering around him? NaruIno.
1. Snake Supreme

Title: Fighting All Odds.  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't think I'll _ever _own them.  
  
Summary: A walk through the thick forest of Konoha and a fight with a giant snake brought new perception in Naruto towards a certain someone. Kunai in hand, ready to spring into action and several strands of pale blond hair only did so much...  
  
Chapter One: Snake Supreme.  
  
He was getting tired of all the stares...  
  
The hatred _and _fear in their eyes...  
  
The whispers that followed his every steps...  
  
The injustice that almost drowned him once...  
  
But not anymore!  
  
"I'll be stronger and kick all their sorry butts!"  
  
The determined shout rang throughout the forest, scaring the birds away and shook the peaceful atmosphere with unusual anger. Uzumaki Naruto heaved a sigh of antipathy, leaning against one of the trees that surrounded him. He tilted his head and closed his eyes. He knew that he could be stronger, no, he _will _be stronger and he _will _show all those pathetic villagers what Uzumaki Naruto is made of. Then and only then, they will see his true self. For whom he chooses to be, not for what they regarded him as for the last decade or so. A fuckin' vessel for a fuckin' youkai. But, until that time comes, he has to practice. And practice. And practice until he could reach beyond his limits. Way beyond the limits.  
  
"Ya don't have to shout, ya know."  
  
The blonde genin snapped his eyes open and narrowed them towards the source of that almost familiar voice. He was greeted with the sight of a fellow genin, raven hair gathered in a short ponytail, if you can call it that. Hands in his pockets, Nara Shikamaru nodded nonchalantly at Naruto before his eyes wondered to every direction available, as though searching for someone. Seemingly, his attempt proved to be fruitless as he shook his head and stared at Naruto, who was by then sitting cross-legged on the fairly grassy ground. The blonde's eyebrows were knitted into a frown and made no whatsoever effort in hiding the fact that he was far from enjoying Shikamaru's presence.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Naruto asked curtly.  
  
The other genin snorted, his answer dripping with sarcasm. "I never knew that ya own the forest. Must've missed the memo."  
  
"Shouldn't you be like staring at the clouds right now? That's what you do all day long, isn't it?"  
  
Shikamaru placed a hand on his chest and pouted mockingly. "Ouch. That went right through the heart."  
  
An uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Either one wish to break the silence first, both being too stubborn, if not too lazy to do anything about it. Shikamaru scratched his nose before starting, rather awkwardly. "Say, how long have ya been here?"  
  
"I don't know. An hour or two. Maybe the whole day," the blonde replied bitterly, keeping his gaze down. When he continued, the bitter feeling was replaced with obvious resentment. "Why'd you care?"  
  
"Whoa! I'm not picking a fight here. Cool down, will ya?"  
  
Naruto scorned at the genin. "What'd you want?"  
  
"Asuma-sensei asked me to find Ino. Choji told me that she might be here," silver loops dangling from his ears, Shikamaru turned to leave but paused. "If ya see Ino, tell her that we have a mission. See ya later."  
  
Barely hearing the simple request, Naruto stood up and dusted his dirty orange jumpsuit. "_If _I see her."  
  
"Hey, I'm not asking for much, man," with that, the raven-haired genin disappeared amongst the trees, the cackling sound of trodden dry leaves becoming fainter until silence blanketed the forest again.  
  
Being detested for his whole life because of a murderous youkai stuck inside of him, Naruto have the right to say that he didn't trust anyone. Iruka-sensei was an exception. The chuunin had proved that he was worthy of Naruto's time. And faith. Treating Naruto with bowls of ramen especially after his payday played a huge part in their relationship. It was a way to show that Iruka still care. That the blonde has someone he can look up to, if he needs any. But at that particular time, Naruto didn't feel like talking to the chuunin. He didn't need to. Sakura's words echoed endlessly inside his head, blurry images jumbling up into a whole scenery that the blonde genin wished he could forget. Instead, it re-played itself for the umpteenth times in that day only.  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Sakura-chan, I-"  
  
"Shut up, Naruto," the pink-haired kunoichi hissed. She turned her attention back to a figure perching on a branch of the nearest tree, sighing dreamily. "Sasuke-kun..."  
  
Never the one to give up so easily, Naruto poked the kunoichi's back. "But, I am-"  
  
Haruno Sakura had had enough. It was not the first time that that stupid dead-last (as Sasuke-kun called him) keep distracting her from observing her Sasuke-kun intently, and she was sure that it will not be the last. Spinning to face Naruto, Sakura gritted her teeth, mumbling curses under her breath. He became even more irritated at the smug grin on Naruto's face when he thought that she finally acknowledge his existence as more than a loudmouthed, stubborn boy that could never surpass her Sasuke-kun. _Well, he thought wrong then. _Green eyes blazing with fury, the kunoichi grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jumpsuit and dragged the blonde genin to the far end of the field, where they were supposed to wait for Kakashi-sensei for another mission. That perverted jounin was already two and a half hour late.  
  
"Ow, Sakura-chan, that hurts!" Naruto protested, trying to wriggle free from Sakura's clutch.  
  
Determined to end everything that day, the kunoichi released Naruto and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her voice was as cold as ice and as sharp as blade when she spoke. "Listen here, Naruto. We're team mates, right?"  
  
The blonde genin just nodded, failing to see the direction of this conversation's going.  
  
"So, can't you just leave me alone? It's not like I want to be in the same team as yours anyway."  
  
Naruto felt like he was pierced with thousands of kunai when he heard the statement. He had tried incessantly to impress Sakura, training day and night just so that he can kick Sasuke's butt one day. Sure, it was because he wanted to be a Hokage and all but pursuing Sakura's affection, and even love, acted as one of the fuel that kept him going until then. The blonde genin choked; he was at lost of word. Sakura was taken aback by the deep hurt and dejection reflected in the pair of sky-blue orbs that looked up to him. And then, just as fast as they had appeared, they were gone. Naruto blinked and forced his lips to curve a smile. He was accustomed to this kind of reaction anyway. The villagers disliked him. Sakura had just joined the long list. Not that it make the pain go away though.  
  
-End of Flashback-  
  
Lost in his thought, the blonde genin mindlessly ventured deeper into the forest, unaware of danger lurking everywhere. The trees became so thick that sunlight barely managed to shine through them as Naruto stumbled across yet another big root. Picking himself up, he almost had no chance to react when a snake, a big snake suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lunged towards him, fangs glistening. The one thing that he would probably be proud of was his quick reflex, which had saved him as Naruto rolled out of harm's way. The snake turned its hideous head to once again attack the genin and Naruto had a clear view of its earth-coloured scales that acted as a camouflage in its hunt for food. He must've tripped over the snake, mistaking it for a tree root. Reaching for his kunai, Naruto grinned.  
  
"At least I'm going to have a good exercise."  
  
The snake charged forward in a surprising speed, hissing venomously at the genin. Naruto dodged with ease but he had no time to celebrate as the snake made a sharp turn in mid-air and aimed for his right arm. He bounced off a tree, leaping onto branch after branch in his attempt to stall time and to wear off the snake before he moves in for the kill. He soon found out that it was a bad move when the reptile cut his way across another tree, leaving Naruto with no option but to curl into a tight ball as the snake lashed out its tail, sending the blonde genin flying through several tree trunks. Staggering up, Naruto wiped away the blood that was trickling down from the corner of his mouth. He frowned when he realized that the snake had disappeared. Probably preparing for a deadly ambush to finish him off and had him for lunch. Grinning, Naruto performed his favourite hand seal. _That stinky scale-head gonna get something, alright!  
  
_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"  
  
A cloud of smoke surrounded the genin as he completed the hand seal. The smoke slowly fades away, revealing five 'Naruto' standing cautiously side by side, forming a small circle to keep each other's back from the oncoming surprise attack. Each with a kunai at hand, they waited in silent. Several minutes passed but there was still no sign of movement around them. No sign of the snake. Getting frustrated with each passing seconds, the real Naruto scanned the surrounding, paying particular attention to weird-looking tree roots and logs. He found nothing. Whether this snake is good, or I'm getting rusty. Or maybe it had left. The clones relaxed visibly, lowering their kunai. That was until a shout from one of the clones caught Naruto's attention. He spun just in time to see the snake rapidly advancing towards them. _Good!  
  
_Naruto focused his chakra to his feet so that he could move faster to evade the wild attacks; the snake had sunk its twelve-inch fangs into a clone, which vanished with a loud pop. The snake was, as Naruto would've said it, one heck of a pissed off scale head. It finished the other clones within seconds, tossing its head at the direction of the blonde genin's every move. They were like in a deadly dance; one mistake and he's out cold. He couldn't afford to screw up in any way; there are plenty of butts he wants to kick out there before he dies. The snake was closing in, huge glossy body thrashing everything out of its way. Naruto backed further when he felt like the snake was getting too close, hurling kunai at the same time. His plan to provoke the snake had worked well but there was a terrible flaw; his thrown kunai did nothing but bounced off the gleaming scales once they made contact. And he was running low in supply; both kunai and chakra.  
  
Too engrossed in dodging the snake's attacks, Naruto panicked slightly when he felt his back pressed against a tree. He chanced a glance at the situation around him, bent his knees and jumped onto the nearest tree. He was surrounded by more trees. The only way out was to slip past the enraged snake, though he could leap from tree to tree. But that was a dangerous gamble as Naruto recalled what had happened the first time he tried to stall some time and he didn't feel like getting slammed into trees again. No fun at all. The snake seemed to be moving faster than before; the ferociousness of its attacks growing steadily. The blonde genin gritted his teeth, racking his head for a solution to the problem he had put himself through. He barely managed to evade another lunge from the snake and Naruto realized that he was slowing down. And that spelt trouble for the genin as speed was important in this 'dance'.  
  
"Attack the eyes!"  
  
The yell almost make Naruto jumped out of his skin. He wanted to know where it had come from and who was butting in his fight but his brain refused to do anything but to digest the advice; attack the eyes. Though the genin was starting to feel irritated for the interruption but it did buy him some time as the snake too was distracted. The reptile stopped attacking long enough for Naruto to draw out two kunai from his pouch. Whilst it snapped and hissed loudly at the possible direction of the owner of the voice, Naruto soundlessly slipped through the snake's guard and halted when he found himself standing under its raised head. Naruto inhaled deeply, praying that this suicide move better work or he's in a deep shit. The genin did a summersault and landed on top of the big head, grinning like a mad Cheshire cat. The snake tried to throw him off but before it could do anything, Naruto drove the two sharp kunai into its amber pupils.  
  
"Say 'bye bye' to your eyes, scale head!" He jumped off the snake as it gave out a bone-chilling shriek of agony that shook the entire forest and thrashed blindly around.  
  
Though he had blinded the snake, the fight ain't over until it's over. That means, he had to stop the snake for good. In the safety of standing on a branch of a tree, Naruto once again performed the hand seal but this time, two dozens of his clones 'Poof!'-ed out. The snake was as dangerous as before, if not more. Its attack, though made without the slightest clue of where the genin was, had turned wilder. Inwardly cursing everything that came to his mind, Naruto waited for a chance to jump onto its head once more while his clones endlessly attacked the snake from every direction in order to confuse it. The genin started when he saw his chance; the snake was flexing the muscles of its long body. He moved towards the snake, using his clones as stepping stones. The last one was quite near to the reptile and Naruto concentrated his chakra for the last jump; it was then or never. As he soared through the air, Naruto could've sworn that he heard someone cheering him on.  
  
Several kunai buried in its head and the snake collapsed with a dull 'Thud!". Naruto had already leaped for safety once he was sure that the kunai had cut through the huge reptile's thick scales. It writhed for several minutes before turning perfectly still. Knowing that it was always better safe than sorry, Naruto inched towards the motionless snake vigilantly, picking up a twig in his way there. The genin poked the snake until he was sure that it was dead before wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. Remembering something, or rather someone, Naruto frowned darkly, despite feeling a bit better after defeating the scaly creature. Turning to uncover the mysterious and bossy person that intruded his fight, he found no one. At first. Scrutinizing his eyes for a closer inspection, Naruto could make out a grinning face behind a mast of dark green leaves. With pale blond hair... Pale blond?  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
I think almost all of you have already guessed it right. Oh well, there's still something coming. It actually started as a friendship fic but who knows what'll happen afterwards. Ohohohoho... I like to keep everyone in the dark. I got the title from a song, or a film... or something like that. I don't quite remember. I'm not really good in writing fighting scene so it kinda sucks. Big time. Excuse me for the inconvenience and for any mistake that I've probably made while writing this story. This is really my first Naruto fic ever. Oh, I also want to try out the beta reader thingy. It sounds interesting enough. If anyone wants to be my beta, please email me. My email address is in my profile. Hope ya'll enjoy reading this. Read and review, ne?  
  
Kaara. 


	2. Double Delight

Title: Fighting All Odds.  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary: Naruto was fighting a snake when an unwanted advice was thrown into his way, which had acted as a life-saving move. Now, without a huge reptile chasing after him to bite his head off, Naruto wanted to know this person. And maybe hurt him or her a bit.  
  
Chapter Two: Double Delight.  
  
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Naruto sighed wearily. "Ino, is that you?"  
  
The said kunoichi stepped out from the shadow, fiddling with a kunai. She brought her hands together and the sound of cheery claps resounded around them. "I thought it had you back there. Nice fight."  
  
Naruto was stunned by the simple compliment, before retorting out of impulse. "It's my fight. Does that means anything to you?" the blonde genin frowned when the kunoichi ignored him. "What're you doing here?"  
  
To his surprise, Ino chuckled and sat on one of the low branches, her toes wiggling mischievously. "Isn't that the same question you asked Shikamaru?"  
  
"You were there? Why didn't you just go with that lazy bone?"  
  
"And miss out the panic you had?" Naruto's cheek burned with an interesting shade of magenta, inviting a fresh gale of laughter from the blonde kunoichi. "You should thank me for saving your ass back there."  
  
"I don't need your help," Naruto snapped irritably. "I can handle that scale head myself."  
  
"Of course you can," either the genin was seeing things or Ino had fallen sick. Really, really sick, as the corner of her lips tugged upward into a small smile. "I'm just here as an audience."  
  
Yamanaka Ino was the one that people refers to as a too self-conscious person. Her lifetime dream was to become the most beautiful, popular girl in Konohagakure. And of course, to win Sasuke's heart and beat Sakura in their ridiculous, never-ending courting battle. Therefore, she usually spent most of her time twirling in front of the mirror, trying out dresses that may suit her Sasuke-kun's taste, brushing her precious long hair or sniffing at the flowers in her family's shop.  
  
Not hanging around in the forest. Or having a conversation with the all- time-hated Kyuubi's vessel. It just occurred to Naruto that Ino was acting a little bit strange then. He looked sceptically up at the blonde kunoichi, who was whistling to a tune at that time. She saw him staring and arched a perfectly-shaped eyebrow.  
  
"What?"  
  
The tone of her voice suggested anything but angry or annoyance. Naruto blinked. "Nothing. It's just that... you haven't answered my question."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Why you're here."  
  
"Oh, that..." Ino scratched the bridge of her nose and for an unknown reason; pinks patches appeared on her cheeks. "Training."  
  
"Training?" Am I dreaming or something? The Yamanaka Ino, Miss Popular of Konoha, came down to the forest for training? Even minus the forest, the prospect of having Ino and training in the same sentence made Naruto shook his head. This is not happening. Maybe I'm having some kind of illusion or something. "Er... you are Ino, aren't you?"  
  
She glared at him with the same glare that she gave Shikamaru when the lad refused to get his lazy ass up to practice or when Choji didn't stop stuffing his mouth even though they were in a mission. A dangerous kind of glare that promised continuous sound torture. Naruto winced mentally, hoping against hope that he would never has to experience it firsthand; he had heard Shikamaru pained grumbles about Ino and her yells.  
  
Needless to say, the picture ain't looking too pretty. Either someone up there was on his side that day or he simply lucked out, the genin heaved a sigh of relief when the blonde kunoichi just shrugged and continued on wiggling her toes mindlessly. She did look somewhat distracted and kept her eyes on anything but Naruto. Curiosity building inside, Naruto considered it for a while before leaping onto the same branch that Ino was sitting on.  
  
"So, so what's up with your training?" the blonde genin soon found out that the kunai twiddled between Ino's slim fingers was far more interesting than waiting for the kunoichi to answer his question. Naruto scowled. "Forget that question. What's up with you?"  
  
"Just tired," came the weak reply.  
  
This time, Naruto did roll his eyes. "Of training?"  
  
"..."  
  
Okay, that's positively irritating. Was Sasuke's little 'I-don't-have-to- answer-your-question-if-I-don't-want-to' habit contagious or Ino simply found out that a way to seduce the raven-haired stuck up in the future is by acting like him? Not likely, though. It pained him to admit it but only an Uchiha was good at making that kind of obnoxious behaviour, definitely not a Yamanaka. No offence meant, honestly.  
  
Naruto stole a glance at the silently-twiddling-a-kunai blonde kunoichi, noting that there was something undeniably wrong with her. Ino was loud, yes (though not as loud as Naruto), and that's a common fact. To see the kunoichi acting like that, all quiet and troubled, was a bit... scary. Even to him. Usually, he wouldn't give a damn of what Ino was feeling or doing; the blonde girl had never show any sort of interest towards him. Not that he expects any. But still...  
  
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked tentatively, trying hard to sound considerate at the same time. Which required a good deal more than he possibly could've imagined. "You look... bothered."  
  
Ino smiled and looked up at the other genin. "I'm fine. It's just that..."  
  
"Just what?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Naruto could feel his patient stretching to a point that even the guys that invented elastic band would be impressed with. Narrowing his eyes, he drawled out, staring at the kunoichi all the time. "I'm not really good with this 'girl talk' sort of thing but hey, you can talk to me anytime. I'm not going to tell anyone, not that I have anyone to tell."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I envy you, you know."  
  
That is not what he had expected in return. "By Leaf's sake, for what? For having a murderous fox sealed inside of me? You can have him if you want to."  
  
"Not because of that," Ino meekly replied. "It's something else."  
  
She pocketed the kunai and looked down again but Naruto caught a glimpse of something in her blue eyes before it disappeared. Something he was familiar with; clear fatigue. His was because of the hatred directed to him but Ino's? Ino had everything she could possibly want. That is, not Sasuke of course. But that never disturbed her before. She seemed to be living just fine. Then again, what was bothering her?  
  
Before Naruto could say a word, the kunoichi spoke out; her voice trembling. "I'm getting sick of being weak. Being saddled with those, those... guys."  
  
Complete silence.  
  
"You mean Shikamaru and...," the genin scratched his head, raking his brain for a name. "What's that fat boy's name again?"  
  
Ino smiled weakly. "Choji. See, people don't even notice us."  
  
"That's not true," Naruto's voice softened, but inside, he was panicking. Oh, man! Of all thing she'd say, this has to be it. Truth to be told, Naruto was not really good in listening at all. What d'you expect from someone as loud as he was, huh?  
  
"Choji kept eating all day, Shikamaru's interested in nothing but clouds and I...," here, the kunoichi choked. Though Naruto couldn't see her, he could feel that she was holding down tears. Ino... "I'm useless. Other than the Shintenshin, I know nothing. And the Chuunin exam's just around the corner."  
  
"You're not useless," his sentence came out as a mere growl. He was angry at Ino; the only thing he had to figure out was why. "You're everything but useless. You're..." Naruto hesitated, trying to find anything that could be used as a support. "You're pretty and popular. Don't understand why you're infatuated with Sasuke but other than that, you're quite alright."  
  
The resultant laughter sent a chill down Naruto's spine. "I wish I can be as strong as you are. I heard 'bout you fighting that missing Mist nin. That must be one hell of a fight."  
  
He didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't even know whether to respond or not, settling on a slightly embarrassed nod towards the kunoichi. Hearing Ino's ranting made Naruto felt uneasy at will. A random thought crossed his mind and before he knew it, he blurted it out, "If that so, why don't you train with me?"  
  
"Eh?" Ino looked up at the grinning genin, the look of utter confusion painted on her face.  
  
"Train with me," his voice grew firmer and Naruto knew that there was no backing away, not that he would. Uzumaki Naruto always kept his words. "Kakashi-sensei is always late, that stuck up bastard's too irritating to train with and Sakura-chan..." He paused.  
  
The blonde kunoichi's ears perked up in curiosity, earning an inward groan from Naruto. "What's with you and Sakura?"  
  
"We're cool," Naruto snapped. "So, what d'you say?"  
  
"Okay, you're annoying, loudmouthed, hyperactive and sucks in giving advices," inhaling deeply and at the same time resisting the urge to grin at the obvious displease on the blonde genin's face, Ino stood up gracefully. "But honestly, I don't know why I'm agreeing to this."  
  
They exchanged wide grins, as though that sealed their little agreement instead of the usual handshake.  
  
Who ever said that an Uzumaki Naruto and a Yamanaka Ino couldn't be friends?  
  
-Five minutes later-  
  
"What do you mean my hair is too long?!  
  
"That's what I meant when I told you. Your hair's making me sneeze!"  
  
"You're just jealous!"  
  
"I am NOT jealous! Are you crazy or what?! Why should I be jealous of your hair?!"  
  
"How am I supposed to know why!"  
  
"You're making less sense the longer you talk. So shut up!"  
  
"How dare a loudmouthed urchin-head like you tell me to shut up!"  
  
"Why you-!"  
  
Uh... never mind.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
There! Another chapter done! Couldn't say that I'm proud of it; there's something wrong in this one. Wish I know what it is... Oh well, you guys could probably tell me what.  
  
Ino's a bit OOC in here, I guess. But don't worry; she'll have back her temper and everything after this. Promise! Only that I'm enjoying our hero's little chat with Miss Yamanaka on a tree. Hey, don't you get any idea here!  
  
For those who're wondering, the timeline is set on before and afterwards, during the Chuunin exam. And after this, the fic will be kind of like an AU. With Naruto and Ino forming an alliance, that can't be helped but I'll try to stick on the details real close.  
  
Then again; read, enjoy and review, minna!  
  
Kaara. 


	3. Argument Galore

Title: Fighting All Odds.  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary: Naruto and Ino made friends, with the Chuunin exam coming. Training together, constant disagreements and more yelling were just several things that they had to endure about each other. Can this odd alliance last a day?  
  
-!-  
  
Chapter Three: Arguments Galore.  
  
"Well, where are we going?"  
  
Naruto sighed wearily at the question. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde kunoichi who was staring expectantly at him. "Ichiraku Ramen. I'm starving."  
  
Ino mouth shot wide open at once. "But ramen makes you fat, all that carbohydrate and stuff! I read about it, you know!"  
  
Her voice sounded thoroughly agitated as she stopped walking and glared accusingly at Naruto, as if he had just asked her to do the most horrible thing he could think of. But at that time, the blonde genin could really think of nothing but a steaming bowl or two of delicious, delicious ramen. Ino kept on ranting about several other health and beauty articles she had come across in her endless plight to impress Sasuke with her beauty, all the while obviously unaware that Naruto had stopped listening.  
  
"If you don't want to go, don't then," the said ramen stand came into view and a wide grin crept its way onto Naruto's face, effectively clearing the cloud of fatigue that loomed heavily above him just a few seconds ago. "I just fought a giant snake and a terrifying Pretty Boy's fangirl. I need proper refreshment."  
  
"Who're you calling 'terrifying', spike-head?!"  
  
Naruto just rolled his eyes in response, parting the Ichiraku's curtain with his usual air of hunger. He paused and turned to face Ino. "It's up to you whether you want to go in or not. But you really should try eating ramen first before complaining. After all, we'll need loads of energy for practice."  
  
"There's always vegetables and something else," the kunoichi hotly retorted, showing no sign of budging from the spot where she stood glaring at Naruto.  
  
While the genin had disappeared into the stand, Ino could make out a reply that sounded suspiciously like, "Rabbit food." The blonde kunoichi narrowed her eyes but said nothing more; torn between leaving and staying. After a couple of minutes of hard thinking, Ino opted for the second choice. She followed Naruto into the stand, huffing and complaining loudly all her way in. Sitting next to the blonde boy, Ino eyed the huge bowl of ramen that Naruto was currently ogling at with an awful mixture of disgust and curiosity.  
  
She had never really tasted ramen before.  
  
And the smell was... very enticing.  
  
The owner of Ichiraku greeted her with a warm welcome, face foggy from all the steam that was coming from a huge container. "And what will you have, young miss?"  
  
Naruto grinned at her through a mouth full of ramen.  
  
The owner was smiling at her, patiently waiting for an order.  
  
Yamanaka Ino swallowed her pride and with that, her prejudice towards certain foods.  
  
"I'll have a bowl of ramen, please."  
  
Slurping down the broth and the last of his ramen, Naruto wiped his mouth and grinned cheekily at the kunoichi. "I thought carbo-something makes you fat."  
  
"Oh, shut up," pink patches coloured Ino's cheek as she defiantly stared at the steaming bowl that the man had just placed on the counter in front of her. Hesitating, she stared at Naruto, who had already started on his second bowl. Picking up her chopsticks, the kunoichi muttered, "Here goes nothing."  
  
Needless to say, Ino was reminded of the beauty of eating proper food by a simple bowl of ramen.  
  
And the vegetables and her other diet resolutions that she had religiously devoted herself to for the past years bade their sweet, tear-filled goodbye to the blonde kunoichi.  
  
-!-  
  
Heading towards the bridge where Team Seven usually had had their meetings, Ino couldn't help but to frown darkly at the genin besides her. "You can stop looking so pleased at yourself, Naruto. You're starting to really irritate me."  
  
"Can't help it," the blonde boy chuckled mischievously, sky blue eyes glinting. "You chowed down three bowls of ramen. Man, that's one big of an appetite for someone like you."  
  
"For your information, I've been on a vegetarian diet for a year," the kunoichi gruffly snapped. "And believe me, Brussels sprout is one heck of a nasty veggie."  
  
Naruto raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Trying to impress Mr. Stuck Up, huh?"  
  
"His name is Uchiha Sasuke and he is NOT a stuck up," Ino huffed in annoyance but her eyes glazed over in an instance. "He's the coolest, cutest, most adorable-"  
  
"Cut it out already. I don't need a long list on that," they had arrived on the bridge and the blonde genin leaned on its railing, looking extremely disgusted at the kunoichi. "You girls are making me sick. Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Gimme a break."  
  
Ino was about to retort and defend her precious Sasuke-kun but did otherwise as she was smart enough not to piss Naruto further, noticing an unfamiliar glint of anger that danced in his sapphire orbs and that the genin was the one that would help her to improve herself. So, the kunoichi just gave her head a magnanimous toss and placed her hands on the railing, looking forward into the distance horizon, where the golden sun was setting. They enjoyed the comfortable silence for quite a while until Naruto remembered something.  
  
"Ino, didn't you guys have a mission or something?" he asked, looking sceptically at the blonde kunoichi. "If you were there when Shikamaru talked to me, then you must've known about it."  
  
The kunoichi gave out a long, suffering sigh. "Yeah, I knew bout it already. But it's so boring and Asuma-sensei keeps on nagging us about teamwork. Don't you even get me started about his lecture on shinobi etiquettes."  
  
"Mine's just as bad," Naruto frowned when an image of a certain always- late, perverted, silver-haired jounin suddenly popped into his head. "Kakashi-sensei is kinda okay, if you minus his obsession over that Icha Icha Paradise books and that he's always late for our team meetings."  
  
Both chuckled at the same time. Their almost similar blue eyes met and both ducked their heads down hurriedly, turning red without any apparent reason. Ino coughed deliberately, dusted her shirt and mumbled something about it was getting late and going home before being scolded. Naruto nodded absently, his eyes trained at the slow flow of the river beneath them. The blonde kunoichi opened her mouth, closed it again and opened it again before deciding against whatever she was about to say and settled on punching Naruto's shoulder playfully.  
  
"I'm going home," she stated, which was quite the obvious.  
  
Naruto waved a hand, grinning at the kunoichi. "I have a team meeting tomorrow so maybe we can practice later. Okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Ino yawned and turned to leave. But that was after she smiled her own version of grateful smile towards the blonde genin. "Thank you."  
  
Waiting until Ino's lithe form disappeared amongst the row of houses and apartments, Naruto looked up at the early stars that had already dotted the night sky. A grin found its way onto the genin's face as he leaned fully against the cold metal of the railing. Sakura rejection didn't feel so awful after all and Sasuke's superior behaviour didn't even bother him at that moment. He had found another person that he could channel his efforts to and perhaps; they could both be stronger together. And then, he could have his sweet, sweet revenge.  
  
How very convenient.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
-cry continuously- Aah!! Gomenasai for the short chapter. I hadn't had much time to write nowadays and my Neko seems to be deserting me of fresh ideas. Blame her, not me!  
  
Here's a question and I really hope you can answer it as it is crucial for the plot (when I managed to figure out one, that is);  
  
Should Ino learn Kage Bunshin?  
  
Because you know, she'll be very curious and as curiosity often leads to learning new techniques, I suddenly have a vision of a hundred 'Ino's assaulting Sasuke. -snickers evilly- That'll be pretty interesting indeed. But another part of me insisted that Kage Bunshin is only for Naruto, so what d'ya think? Should I or shouldn't I?  
  
Thanks a bunch to the reviewers. You guys are great people. If I can cook, I'm going to make ya all a big bunch of cookies but alas, I do not wish to poison such wonderful, wonderful people. Then, I won't have any review! -blinked innocently- And I love them, ya know! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! -breathes deeply- ONEGAI!  
  
I'll be thanking these brilliant people for their reviews;  
  
Ice Dragon XXI : Thanks for your encouragement! -offers cookies- Make sure you have antidote to every poison that ever existed before you eat these cookies.  
  
Xoni Newcomer : Yeah, Ino certainly look kinda depressed but that's not her fault. Imagine if you're in the same team as Shika and Chouji... -imagines herself fondling... uh, talking to Shika- I wanna be in that team!  
  
S-Wanderer999 : Ah! You have so many too write! -starry eyes- Hm, I'll just assume that everyone in Konoha already know that Naruto's carrying Kyuubi in his belly button (I love the way you put it!), that's why he sounded more miserable and vengeful than in the real anime or manga, ne? Naruto and Hinata? That's pretty common but Ino and Gaara?! Kyaa!! That's absolutely adorable! Now I just have to figure out how Gaara's going to fall for Ino...- rubs her hands in evil fangirl glee-  
  
Ah yes, it's time to say another goodbye. And I hope I'll be seeing you again in the next chapter. And the same ol' routine; Read, enjoy and review, minna!  
  
Kaara 


	4. Begin Training

Title: Fighting All Odds  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't _think _I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary so far: Naruto found Ino skulking around in the Konoha Forest. After a short conversation with the upset kunoichi, both decided to train together. Naruto told Ino to meet him after his team meeting and hence, that is what will evolve around in this chapter.  
  
My Neko is finally awake! -hugs a sleepy-looking Kitsune ecstatically- Now, I can write a longer chapter for the readers! -squeals in evil delight- Ahahahahahahahaha!  
  
On with the fic!  
  
-!-  
  
Chapter Three: Begin Training.  
  
They were waiting on the bridge.  
  
Like they always did.  
  
Sakura had contented herself by trimming her shoulder-length pink hair patiently, all the while muttering under her breath the important tips to get her hair untangle in emergency cases such as a certain bad hair day or after another mission that involves baby-sitting, like what their last mission turned out to be. She had taken several good hours to un-bubblegum- ed her hair and needless to say, it was a very tiring and frustrating procedure. She could've use that time to do something more useful, like watching her Sasuke-kun or...  
  
_'Apologizing to Naruto!' _screamed Inner Sakura, who for once, was siding to the blonde genin. The visible Sakura hushed down her more aggressive hidden self immediately.  
  
Why should _she _apologize to _him_?  
  
Sasuke meanwhile, was in his usual brooding hero mode, his dark eyes looking far across the stretched land of Konoha. He was perching coolly (as Sakura often put it as) on the railing, carefully balancing himself so that he wouldn't fall into the flowing river below and make a scene out of himself. The thought of doing such a Naruto-ish thing sent an uncomfortable shiver chasing down his spine. He ran a hand through his raven hair, allowing the cool breeze to ruffle them as his thought wondered astray, but somehow, it kept coming back to a certain, out of character blonde genin...  
  
Sakura and Sasuke directed their eyes towards the said person at exactly the same time.  
  
Inner Sakura did a victory dance at the untimely cuteness of their act.  
  
Naruto had seated himself under the shade of a tree far from his two team mates, especially the pink-haired kunoichi but seeing that Sakura was always as close as she could ever get to Sasuke, it didn't make much difference. He was reading a scroll, which was later identified as one of those scrolls stacked in the Academy library. Blue eyes scanning over whatever passage he was interested in intently, Naruto was being unusually quiet and... serious. He hadn't said a single word to both of them since they first arrived in the clearing three and a half hour ago.  
  
A poof of smoke announced the arrival of the infamous ever-late Jounin a.k.a. their perverted sensei. Hatake Kakashi's visible eyes curved into a happy line as he landed gracefully on a low branch of a tree near to Sakura and Sasuke, a smile forming beneath the mask that he wore. Sakura snapped his head automatically towards their sensei, placing both hands on her hip and glared at the jounin, yelling the usual, "You're late!" greeting, though there was an exception. Naruto had not joined her in that time; the blonde boy was still bending over the scroll.  
  
Sasuke was trying really, really hard not to roll his eyes at the irony of the situation.  
  
Sakura narrowed her eyes towards the sensei. "Why are you late today?"  
  
"Aa... when I passed the mart today, I saw two old women dancing together-"  
  
"LIAR!"  
  
It felt different, when Naruto wasn't there to yell along with her. But Sakura, being Sakura, didn't say anything about it. She merely shot another murderous glare at the jounin, shrugged and decided that whatever she said wouldn't penetrate through the mass of unruly silver hair on top of her sensei's head. Kakashi waited for Naruto to harass him for being late; he was rather stunned (though he never admit it) when the genin was absence throughout the whole 'Kakashi-sensei Is Late Again' ritual that they were so fond of. It was, after all, one of his valuable sources of amusement.  
  
But Naruto remained unmoved.  
  
A big question mark appeared on top of Kakashi's head.  
  
"We don't have any mission for today," he smiled at Sakura when the kunoichi heaved a sigh of relief. "So, I'm going to read my book and you're going to practice by yourself for your upcoming exam, and Sasuke?"  
  
The raven-haired genin looked up, arching an eyebrow. Inner Sakura squealed in a horrible fangirl delight while the Outer Sakura settled on a polite blush. Kakashi held up a finger. "No serious injury to Naruto. If you two decides on a spar, that is."  
  
By the look of it, the blonde genin didn't even want to leave the scroll.  
  
Another big question mark popped on top of the jounin, joining the first one.  
  
Naruto was never too fond of reading before.  
  
Kakashi disappeared into another cloud of smoke and reappeared besides Naruto, expecting a scream or a fist to be aimed towards him. What he didn't expect was for a pair of calm eyes to stare at him, questioning the jounin silently for the purpose of his very action. Naruto had rolled up the scroll and placed it into a backpack next to him, his face betrayed no whatsoever emotion as he continued to stare at his team sensei. For the first time in his life, Hatake Kakashi was at a loss of word. Which, need I remind you, was not a pretty sight to behold.  
  
"Naruto, is there something wrong?" the silver-haired Sharingan user finally asked.  
  
The blonde genin just shook his head in return and grinned his foxy grin. "Nope."  
  
"You hear what I said back there?"  
  
"Uh huh. Don't have any mission, you'll read that Icha Icha and get horny while we practice. Right?"  
  
The jounin could do nothing but to agree. Still wasn't quite satisfied with the answer, Kakashi took another turn. "What were you reading?"  
  
"Oh, that? Nothing important," Naruto shrugged in his carefree way. "Just something from the Academy."  
  
The genin stood up and shouldered the backpack. Kakashi too straightened up, his visible eyes still trained on the blonde boy before him. "You want to spar with Sasuke?"  
  
Naruto looked at the other genin, who was tossing kunai and shuriken idly towards an aim scratched on a tree twenty feet from him. Sakura was watching the boy with hunger-filled eyes. He groaned inwardly. "No. I'll do something else."  
  
"Well, if you need me, you know where I am," with that, Kakashi poof-ed and disappeared again, appearing on the same low branch where he had arrived earlier. The jounin slipped out a book from his back pocket and sunk lower, snuggled into the rough surface of the branch. But that seemed to be the least of his problem as pink patches started to appear on his cheeks. And mask.  
  
Naruto snorted. "Yeah, disintegrating Konoha's youth morality."  
  
He had wanted to ask Kakashi whether the jounin had seen Team Eight but decided otherwise. That silver-haired pervert might get suspicious and Naruto was not in the mood of explaining things that he had done behind the sensei's back. Not that he cared or anything, it was only that Kakashi might tell Iruka-sensei about it. Thinking about Iruka made him feel slightly guilty. Ever so slightly... but when he thought of practicing with someone other than Sakura or Sasuke, the guilt vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but a grin on Naruto's face.  
  
-!-  
  
"Sorry I'm late!"  
  
Ino plopped onto the ground, out of her breath from running across the village to meet Naruto there. She closed her eyes and wiped the beads of sweat that was trickling down her face. Her shirt was damp and her hair was in a complete disarray, the long ponytail pooling haphazardly around her shining face. Breathing hard, Ino cracked open an eye and smiled at the blonde genin. Lifting herself up on her elbows, the kunoichi drew out a handkerchief from the pocket of her pants and continued on wiping dry every single drop of sweat on her face.  
  
Naruto waited patiently for Ino to catch her breath, leaning against a tree. Bored of the silence, the genin started. "What were you guys doing?"  
  
"Nothing much," the kunoichi answered nonchalantly. "Had a fight with Choji just because I told him that he's becoming a fat slug. He threw a packet of chips at me and Asuma-sensei got angry again 'cause we don't have teamwork."  
  
"And Shikamaru?"  
  
Ino looked up. "What about him?"  
  
"Did he say anything bout what happened in the forest?"  
  
"No. Why should he?"  
  
Shrugging off the question, Naruto turned his attention back to the scroll. "We're doing taijutsu today."  
  
"Eh?" Ino jumped on her feet, disbelief painted on her face. "Taijutsu?"  
  
"Yeah, 'cause I figured that you might want to get better in close combat techniques and speed," the genin suddenly frowned. "Anyway, I just want to know what exactly your specialty is. You know, jutsu or stuff. Then it'll be easier for me if I know what you do best."  
  
Ino sighed. She stood up and slipped the handkerchief back into the pocket. "Shintenshin no Jutsu, the Yamanaka family bloodline limit. I can project my spiritual energy outwards into someone else's mind and if successful, I can control the target according to my will. I can make you tap dance naked in front of Sakura if you want me to."  
  
"That's pretty cool but no thanks," Naruto grinned, immensely impressed by the newfound piece of information. That was before he noticed the look on Ino's face. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Well, for one thing, it takes up a lot of time and can only last for a short period. Which is a major disadvantage," the blonde kunoichi laughed bitterly and gave her head a toss. "Besides that and the basic stuff, I know almost nothing."  
  
The genin rubbed a thumb against the bridge of his nose, the grin hadn't quite disappear from his whiskered face. "Maybe we can find a way to use it in actual battle and minimize the risk from its disadvantages at the same time."  
  
"Maybe," Ino agreed doubtfully. She stared at the grinning Naruto before asking, "So, what's yours?"  
  
"Mine?" Naruto hesitated but as Ino had willingly told him about her bloodline limit, he could, at least, tell the truth. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. And of course, I'm hard-headed so I don't easily give up. That's a real help." He grinned proudly.  
  
"Hard-headed?" the kunoichi snorted. "I'd rather call you a stubborn jackass."  
  
"You're training with a jackass then," Naruto gasped in mock surprise. "And that makes you a jackass too."  
  
He was presented with a resounding slap to the back of his head.  
  
"OW!"  
  
Ino grinned victoriously. "That's for even _assuming _that I'm anything like you. So, how're we going to start with these taijutsu thingy?"  
  
"The thing is that I'm not really sure myself," he frowned when the blonde kunoichi's jaw dropped. "It's not like I know everything!"  
  
"But you should at least know something bout it! You suggested this!"  
  
Naruto winced at the overwhelming volume, Ino's shrill voice ringing in his ears. His usual temper returned, in full force. "When I suggested it, I thought that it'll be helpful! And it will, if you can just stop %&#% yell at me!"  
  
Both Leaf nins glared murderously at each other.  
  
Without warning, Ino broke into a smile, followed by a cheery laughter.  
  
Naruto blinked. And frowned. "What's so funny?"  
  
"You are," the kunoichi laughed harder at his dumbfounded reaction. Much to Naruto's indignant; Ino ruffled his spiked hair teasingly. "You've been acting like you're not the Naruto that we used to know. It's just so... weird. That's more like you."  
  
Naruto slapped her hand away and kept his gaze locked to his feet, the blond bangs covering his eyes. He wouldn't want Ino to see the smile that he had been unable to suppress. Knowing the kunoichi, though not for long, he would never hear the end of it if Ino knew what her seemingly-innocent statement had make the genin felt. Valued. And missed. He had never felt this before and his smile widened, savouring the unfamiliar mix of feeling. But when Ino started poking him with her long and pointy fingernails, which resulted in a very uncomfortable prickling to his skin, the genin's smile faltered.  
  
"Stop poking me!"  
  
The kunoichi shrugged. "You're like sleeping while standing or something."  
  
"I'm not sleeping, just... thinking," Naruto retorted, crossing his arms and scowled at Ino.  
  
Ino would've laughed again at the absurdity of the genin's answer but she had enough of laughing for a day; her jaw was hurting like mad. "Well Mr. Great Thinker, what d'you reckon we should do first?"  
  
"I haven't thought of anything yet. Except if you want to move around Konoha wearing weight around your neck," Naruto snorted, intending to make it sound as though he was being sarcastic, which he did have in mind. But Ino's reaction showed him how wrongly he had been thinking about the blonde kunoichi. Dead wrong.  
  
"We have nothing to lose," Ino had confidently said.  
  
Naruto did a double-take. "I was just joking!"  
  
"There're nins that improve their speed by doing that," the kunoichi hesitated. "Though I don't fancy hanging heavy rings 'round my neck. I'll look stupid."  
  
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" the genin shook his head in disbelief when Ino nodded. But come to think of it, it did sound like a plan. At least, they had one to begin with. Comprehension dawning into him with an amazing speed, Naruto cracked his knuckles and his lips curled up into a grin. "What're we gonna use? Rocks in a net? Rocks in pockets? Rocks in underwear?"  
  
Ino glared at him in disgust for the last suggestion. "Not everything heavy is made out of rocks, idiot. What about metal plates? My mom once told me something bout a pervert on a huge toad and how she used to have some of the plates to throw at him."  
  
"Let's go and buy metal plates!"  
  
"Impatient idiot."  
  
"Hey, I heard that!"  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
Oh kay, the idea of metal plate is not really mine but hey, -grins- I like it and ran away with it. -stuck out her tongue- You can't catch me! A trivia for ff fanatics; Which superb story did I stole the idea from? Hint: a fic that I really, really love. Even Neko didn't like the idea of stealing it in the first place but we achieved an agreement. With a minor help from a very sweet-smelling bun.  
  
I did take some time to finish this but it is longer than the last three chapters. -shrugs- And my Neko is here to scratch me with her lovely claws whenever I make mistakes. -pats Neko proudly- So, life in overall is pretty good, so to say. Ah! Not to forget your valuable, valuable reviews! I love them SO much!  
  
The story's going on slowly because it sometimes took me quite a while to figure out what to put in a chapter and to figure out a plot. -hides behind Neko- I promise I'll find one! And Naruto and Ino are already going to start training! So there!  
  
I had so much fun writing this chappie. It just occurred to me as weird coz the first chapter is kinda angsty, the second one is kinda fluffy, the third one is kinda sappy and this one is kinda... funny. Me and my ideas... I hope you guys didn't mind the changes much, it's just my way to express things in different perspectives. -pout- I'll be very, very sad if you do...  
  
Refused-san: I thought I've lost you! -cries in a very Gai-like way- You didn't leave any review for the last chapter and... and... and... -sniff- Anywho, thanks for reviewing again and for the info on Kage Bunshin! That's a real help!  
  
Ice Dragon XXI: Oh, you're still alive after the cookies... -change topic immediately-Your name is kinda long and calling you Ice Dragon XXI-san just didn't sound right. Can I call you Ice-san? Or Dragon-san? Or if you prefer, I can always call you XXI-san. -beamed expectantly- But anou sa... what do you mean by spoiling the story? Do tell!  
  
Sam: If you've read the first chapter, you'll know that this started off as a friendship fic and I'm trying my hardest to make it stay that way. But who knows, maybe something else will surface. It's like you watch the movie The Ring, everything resurface. Brrr...  
  
Licht Sieger: -blinked- That information is totally interesting! I thank thee for that and hope you'll keep reviewing!  
  
AGENT: Dusk: What a funny name... Do you work for the FBI or CIA or... -gasp- MIB?! -hugs Neko tightly- She's not an alien! Don't take her away! -wheezes- Ah! Thanks for reviewing and keep on doing it! Thanks for the respond to my question!  
  
Gopu: I do hope that your review will be longer though... -pout-  
  
Thanks again, minna! -smiles- I have to think about Ino learning Kage Bunshin again. From what you guys have told me so far, it's a real tough job. And I was really hoping that the kunoichi can learn it... Oh well, maybe I can put a demon inside of her. You know, Naruto had Kyuubi, Gaara has Tanuki... That's a fox and a raccoon. Maybe I can seal Neko inside of her! -readers take a few steps back- Mou...  
  
Until next time; Read, enjoy and review, minna!  
  
Kaara


	5. To Kill A Mocking Bird

Title: Fighting All Odds  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary so far: Naruto's sudden change in attitude seemed to set some people to their 'Curiosity Mode' as the blonde genin and kunoichi prepared to begin their training. With the Chuunin Exam approaching rapidly, they have less time to quarrel and more for think up how to move around with extra weight.  
  
Kaara: You're still reading this! Domo arigato gozaimasu!  
  
Neko: -nods-  
  
Kaara: Say something!  
  
Neko: ... -thinks- Leave reviews.  
  
Kaara: -hugs Neko- Good kitty! -grins- On with the fic!  
  
-!-  
  
Chapter Five: To Kill A Mocking Bird  
  
"This thing is heavy!"  
  
CLANG.  
  
"Ow! Why'd you do that for?!"  
  
Ino adjusted the metal plate that she had just used to clobber Naruto to its place; a thin, leather bag with several similar leather straps and silver buckles. The blonde kunoichi muttered a few well-chosen curses as she fastened the weighed bag to her back so that it assembled the ordinary bag that girls used to when they went to the Academy. The only difference was that their bag did not weight twenty pound and could crack someone's skull if used effectively, like she had kindly demonstrated on Naruto.  
  
"You whine too much," the kunoichi frowned as she felt her legs threatened to buckle under her. "Damn. Should've started with ten pound instead of these twenty."  
  
A grin flashed across Naruto's face, the fastened bag already hidden underneath his orange jumper. He flexed his muscles for a while before turning to face a murderous-looking Ino. "That's no fun. No challenge at all. If we want to even survive the exam, this is the easiest way to speed up. Like you've said before."  
  
"I know I shouldn't have opened my big mouth," the kunoichi scowled, but nevertheless, Ino felt somewhat relieved that she was actually doing something. Albeit the fact that it was a dumb thing. "I can barely move now. What're we suppose to do? Attack each other while moving like slugs?"  
  
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I think we just have to get use to the weight first, and then train for close combat. What d'you say?"  
  
"I guess you're right," Ino looked down at the extra metal plates that were thrown unceremoniously on the ground after they went shopping for it. She stared at the blonde genin. "Who's going to bring back all these stuff? My mom will get suspicious when she sees it and that toad pervert's not in Konoha, so no excuse there."  
  
"I'll bring it back then," Naruto bent down to pick up all the plates and stuffed it into his backpack. The grin on his face had vanished in a second.  
  
It didn't take long for Ino to figure out why. She smiled apologetically at the genin. "I didn't mean to..."  
  
"It's okay," the genin straightened up, one hand holding the heavy backpack while another was placed on his hip. "See you tomorrow. Same time, same place."  
  
"Yeah," Ino agreed, waving a hand as she started walking (or rather hunching) towards the direction of her house. She paused and spun to stare at a standing Naruto. "Hey, spike head. Wanna get some ramen together?"  
  
Naruto grinned. "Sounds good to me."  
  
-!-  
  
Nara Shikamaru sighed. His eyes were trained on the clouds that were floating lazily across the blue sky but somehow, his mind had run astray. It was uncommon for him to worry about a certain blonde kunoichi; not that Ino couldn't take care of herself, it was just that she had been acting pretty strange lately. First she didn't turn up for a mission (the mission itself was a tiresome one), then she had stopped yelling at him and Choji, which obviously showed that something was wrong, not to mention her sudden fascination for ramen. Ramen. Shikamaru unconsciously shivered.  
  
"Shika!"  
  
A rather large-bellied boy jogged towards Shikamaru, his face red and was shining with sweat. Akimichi Choji huffed and puffed heavily with every step that he took, a packet of chips dangling from one of his chubby hands as the end of the scarf that he wore flapped behind him. Shikamaru arched an eyebrow lazily, before lying back on the green grass. He wasn't in the mood for whatever thing that Choji wanted to tell him. Usually, it was always about a new restaurant in Konoha or where to get the best meat bun around there. Not very helpful things if you were not into food as Choji were.  
  
"Shika, you have to listen to me!" the other genin persistently (if a bit annoyingly) tugged at his ponytail, causing the Kagemane user to jerk his head back and glared at Choji.  
  
"I'm listening," Shikamaru snapped.  
  
"I saw Ino."  
  
"So? I thought you're having a row with her."  
  
Choji shook his head, eyes glittering. "She's with that Uzumaki guy."  
  
Shikamaru bolted upright at the information, his eyes narrowing. "Naruto? What's Ino doing with him?"  
  
"Eating ramen," Choji chuckled when he saw his teammate facefaulted. "At Ichiraku."  
  
"Since when did Ino suddenly become all buddy-buddy with Naruto?"  
  
"Dunno. They were laughing bout something and Shika," Choji lowered his voice as his face took a slightly worried (or horrified) expression. "She looked... happy."  
  
Happy? Ino and Naruto? Shikamaru blinked, and blinked again; his brain furiously trying to digest the sentence that he had just heard. Though he was considerably smarter than anyone in their class, it took him several long minutes to grasp the reality of what exactly was happening between the blonde kunoichi and the blonde genin. Even after a good while, he still couldn't figure out how. Or why. He looked up at Choji, who was happily munching away on the chips and then, to the clouds. Being the genius that he was, Shikamaru proposed a plan for a quick action, to which Choji reluctantly agree.  
  
"Let's go to Ichiraku."  
  
-!-  
  
"Thanks for the ramen."  
  
Ino gratefully thanked the owner of Ichiraku Ramen as she parted the curtain, ready to leave. Naruto wiped the corner of his mouth and grinned as he took yet another steaming bowl of ramen. The genin picked up his chopsticks and said, "Don't be late tomorrow."  
  
"I won't," the kunoichi retorted, fighting down the urge to burp from the ramen that she had had. "Tomorrow, I'm going to kick your ass big time."  
  
"We'll see who kicks whose ass," Naruto's grin grew wider as he watched Ino disappear into the street with a wave. He turned to the owner. "Another bowl!"  
  
-!-  
  
Naruto had barely finished his fifth bowl when a voice behind him made the genin stop slurping down its thick broth. He turned to see who the interrupter was; his eyes instinctively narrowed when he saw Shikamaru standing at the entrance of Ichiraku crazy. Choji had already occupied a seat in the end of the stand and was happily inhaling ramen, oblivious of the sudden tense atmosphere that loomed thickly in the air. Shikamaru was unusually serious with a frown painted on his face. He sat besides Naruto, keeping his attention at Choji even though there was certainly nothing interesting in watching the human vacuum cleaner cleared bowls after bowls of ramen.  
  
"Hey," the pony-tailed genin started, as awkward as he had before in the forest.  
  
Naruto placed his own bowl and chopsticks down, staring at them. "Hey."  
  
"I thought you're with Ino," Shikamaru tore his eyes away from Choji and locked them on Naruto. "Where's she?"  
  
"Went home already," the blonde muttered. He stood up, fished out some cash and dumped them onto the counter. The owner of Ichiraku nodded, scooping up the money. Naruto grinned. "Thank you."  
  
"Come again."  
  
Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched as he watched Naruto hopped from the stool and sauntered out of the ramen stand, hands deep in his pockets. If Choji had looked up from the bowl of ramen that he was currently attending to, the chubby boy could've seen Shikamaru's ponytail bristled in silent fury. The Kagemane user frowned and slipped off his own stool, following Naruto out. Choji, being Choji, was too preoccupied by the ramen to notice anything. Good for him, though. Shikamaru parted the curtain, and was slightly surprised when he saw that Naruto had actually waited for him. But it was no surprise that the blonde genin didn't look too pleased about it.  
  
"What do you want?" Naruto snapped; his blue eyes had somehow turned a shade darker. "Someone like you won't stop until you're satisfied. Better make it quick. I don't have much time to waste."  
  
Irritated by the tone that the other genin had used, Shikamaru breathed in deeply to suppress his own anger. No need to make things go ugly. "What're you doing with Ino?"  
  
A mocking grin flashed across Naruto's feature. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"  
  
"Look, she's been acting all alien nowadays and we're..." the pony-tailed genin stopped. Why did he care anyway? Noting that Naruto was waiting for an answer, Shikamaru swallowed down his doubt. For later revision. "We're just curious to know what she's up to. That's all."  
  
The blonde boy snorted. "Save your curiosity for later, dude. Her business has nothing to do with you. If Ino wants to tell you something, she'll tell you. If she doesn't want to, I ain't saying anything."  
  
"Then ya want me to act like it's okay for her to abandon her teammates for ya?" Shikamaru was in a nasty shock when he realized that he had raised his voice. And it was all because of that certain blonde kunoichi. An uncomfortable shiver raced down his spine as he stared somewhat in confusion at a grinning Naruto. "Whatcha grinning at?"  
  
"You're worried about her, don't you?" Naruto snickered loudly at the blush that appeared immediately as the result of his statement. He gave Shikamaru one of those rare genuine smiles. "Respect Ino. She knows what she wants."  
  
Before Shikamaru could say a word, the blonde genin disappeared amongst a mass of people, waving a hand at him. He scratched the back of his head, smiled and walked towards his favourite hill, the burden in his mind considerably lighter after talking to Naruto. He put both hands behind his head, whistling a tune from his childhood days. Shikamaru took a thoughtful glance at the clouds above and stopped his pace. He had been loafing around in life too much. If Ino was taking the exam seriously, maybe he should too.  
  
Nara Shikamaru groaned.  
  
The clouds would have to wait, after all.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
There's another chapter gone by. -sigh- Gomen cause it is kinda short. Neko and me aren't really well this month so we couldn't write longer chapter for all of you good people out there. Gomenasai, honto ni!  
  
Shikamaru is in the spotlight in this chappie. I just love that guy! He's so lazy and so smart but so lazy while so smart... Anou, let's just say that I like him, ne? -grins- And his interaction with Ino always make me smile. It's just so... deep. And oppose with each other. Whatever that means. He'll play an important part afterwards so Shikamaru have to train. -blinked- It's a secret until then, though!  
  
The reviews! The reviews!  
  
Refused-san: The timeline, huh? Because of me and my laziness, Neko decides that for me. She says that it's approximately two months before the first Chuunin exam. -nods- That way, Naruto and Ino will have more time to practice. What do you think? And Jiraiya will appear too. I LOVE that guy. He's just SO pervertish. -chuckles-  
  
Ice Dragon XXI: No need to worry! No need to worry! I'm planning to make those two suffers for a few chapters before they master anything. No shortcut for them. And about the love thingy, I'm trying my best to make this a friendship fic. Maybe a few will come out but that's not for sure. So keep on reading, enjoying and reviewing this story, 'kay?  
  
Kutsu-chan: Wai! -glittering eyes- Arigato for such nice things you've said (or wrote) about me! I hope I didn't keep you waiting for this chapter. Thanks again!  
  
Gopu: Uh... thanks?  
  
Anou, I think this is goodbye for now. Please bear my mistakes and leave reviews so that I can make this story better. Neko says goodbye to you all too.  
  
Alas, read, enjoy and review, minna!  
  
Kaara 


	6. Lonely Haven

Title: Fighting All Odds  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary so far: Naru argued with Ino. Naru and Ino started training. Naru got Saku and Sasuke (maybe Kaka too) baffled by his strange attitude. Ino got Shika (but not Choji) worried. Neko am very happy with all that.  
  
ARGHH! I know I should've written longer chapter for you guys. Anyway, this one will be longer, rest assured, but that also means that it's going to take some time for me to update. So please bear me, okay?  
  
-!-  
  
Chapter Six: Lonely Haven.  
  
_Wake up, child.  
  
WAKE UP!  
  
_A pair of bloodshot eyes snapped open at the inhuman voice echoing through the empty clearing. He tried to sit up at first, supporting his light weight with both elbows, grazing them badly against the sharp stones that were scattered around the clearing. The boy winced in pain, gingerly rubbing the new wounds. His narrowed eyes wildly searched the area for the owner of the voice as the wounds healed on its own and the skin patched up until nothing betrayed the fact that he was even injured in the first place. He found no one after the brief search, and a smirk flashed across the pale, whiskered face. The boy tilted his head upward, crying out the cry of deep anguish and hatred. A similar cry greeted his own, before a shadow slowly appeared in front of him.  
  
Revealing a fox with nine magnificent tails.  
  
_So, you've finally decided to get off your lazy ass.  
  
_"Don't you start on me, fox," the boy snapped, sauntering towards the spirit and flopped onto the soft tails. He closed his eyes and sighed wearily. "I'm so tired, I feel like sleeping a hundred years."  
  
_You can't lie to me, child, I know you. I am a part of you.  
  
_He scowled darkly, looking up into the slits that were staring down at him. "Who said anything about lying?"  
  
A sharp gale of laughter rang across the clearing.  
  
_Child, you may have succeeded in tricking all those Leaf fools into believing that you are nothing but a troublesome brat, but you can never deceive the Great Kyuubi.  
  
_"Iie, I'm not lying," he retorted, closing his eyes again. "I'm just freakin' exhausted."  
  
_I can sense that you're having fun with the human female.  
  
_"Ino is a... special case. Just a distraction, so to say."  
  
_Distraction? Why do you need a distraction for, child?  
  
_The closed eyes twitched slightly with annoyance. "Hey, I can't spend all my time ruminating about rampaging Konoha, okay? Sometimes, I just need a distraction. Besides, she will be of no use when I've gotten stronger. Satisfied?"  
  
_As you wish.  
  
_The youkai wrapped his tails protectively around the boy, razor-sharp claws sifting through the blonde locks in an almost father-like way. The boy, Naruto, snuggled closer, seeking for more warmth from the most-feared youkai that had once tried to destroy Konohagakure. They were dwelling in the landscape of mind, Naruto's mind to be precise. Above them was black sky, with no stars or moon lighting the space, surrounded by pure darkness. It was life the way Naruto saw it. An empty, hollow pit that promised nothing but pain and seclusion. For twelve years he had lived through this miserable life, shunned and feared for a reason that was never his fault. He was all alone, but then, Kyuubi came.  
  
The fox materialized suddenly in one of his constant nightmares, where kids from the Academy and their parents were shouting at him, telling him to die and calling him a monster. Kyuubi had ripped into each and every one of those shouting people, spilling coppery blood all over Naruto while tortured screams echoed around him. He knew that it was only a nightmare, yet he couldn't suppress the innermost joy that he felt as he watched them die, one after another. They deserved it, all of them. He had unknowingly cheered the murderous youkai on, watching with growing admiration at the surreal fluid movements and agility of the Kyuubi, wishing that he was as good as the fox was. If he had had it all, he could avenge the misfortune that the Leaf piled onto him.  
  
Kyuubi had looked at him in the eyes, fresh blood dripping from the corner of the youkai's mouth as he stood in the midst of the massacre. Naruto didn't know how to react properly, should he be happy or should he be afraid? He had taken a step forward, reaching out a hand and slowly stroked the golden, shining fur of the fox. He had expected the youkai to snap, or even strip him from limb to limb but Kyuubi did neither. The fox merely took a sniff at his face and licked away the blood that was trailing down his cheek tenderly. When Naruto ran his fingers along the fox's beautifully- curved face, he found a weird symbol tattooed to Kyuubi's forehead. The same symbol that could be found on his belly.  
  
The seal of the Fourth Hokage.  
  
The seal that had imprisoned Kyuubi inside him.  
  
The seal that had doomed his life to a living Hell.  
  
Since that fateful nightmare, Kyuubi had kept him company throughout every night.  
  
"I'm glad you're here, you know," Naruto murmured through half-lidded eyes. "I'm not alone anymore."  
  
_I'm here until you reach the point that we had both agreed upon, child. After that, you and I will have what we crave for.  
  
_Naruto smiled. "Oh yes, sweet, sweet revenge."  
  
_To the Leaf.  
  
_"To the Leaf."  
  
_Be stronger, child, be stronger and free me. Free me from this prison, this cursed chain that binds me and we will create chaos together on the land. That, I promise you.  
  
_"I will."  
  
-!-  
  
Naruto woke up with a start. He blinked and groggily pushed away the thick blanket that was entangled around him. The blonde genin recalled the last conversation he had with his 'secret' nightly visitor and a wide, foxy grin crept up onto his face. He ran a finger across the whisker marks that scarred his cheek, savouring the usual callousness as he faintly heard shrill laughter ringing from the deepest part of his mind. Naruto yawned loudly and hopped out of his bed, scratching the back of his head as he wondered what he would have for breakfast. Well, the usual instant ramen would do. There was nothing else in the kitchen anyway. Snatching his towel from its nail, the genin happily hummed his way into the small bathroom, before a series of knocks disturbed his morning routine.  
  
"Ohayo, Naruto!"  
  
Ino beamed cheekily at the blonde, as if it was natural for her to turn up at Naruto's doorstep early in the morning, which in this case, was not natural at all. Indeed, it was so unnatural and bizarre that the blonde boy blinked for a good while and shook his head several times, suspecting that it was a part of a dream that his overworked, twisted mind had conjured up. With a fox demon sealed somewhere in him, it could be possible, Naruto thought. But Ino turned out to be real, as she had effectively proven to him when she whapped the boy for blinking continuously at her. Naruto grinned at the blonde kunoichi, noticed that she was stifling laughter, looked down at his panda-patterned pyjama and turned deep red.  
  
"Cute," Ino mouthed out, snickering at the blushing Naruto.  
  
"Shut up," the blonde genin snapped and frowned at the kunoichi. "What're you doing here? I thought we're supposed to train together after the team meeting."  
  
She wiggled a finger at him and brandished a nicely-wrapped lunch box. "Breakfast. You're always eating that ramen stuff, once in a while, you have to eat something else. Something nutritious."  
  
"If you're the one who made it, I'll pass. I wanna live long."  
  
CLANG.  
  
"Ow! That hurts, dammit!"  
  
"Maybe you've forgotten about the metal plate already," Ino narrowed her eyes, the leather straps tangled tightly around her free hand. She huffed and gave her head a toss. "Here I am, trying to be nice to you and what do I get? Insult from the ungrateful, stubborn jackass."  
  
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I'll eat that thing. Just leave it on the kitchen counter."  
  
He turned and headed back to the bathroom, leaving Ino to fumble with her sandals and cautiously stepped into the apartment. It was small, if slightly bigger than the living room of her house. Everything seemed to be neat and in order, which was quite a surprise if you counted in Naruto's clumsy attitude. A small rack for footwear was placed near the entrance and a simple mat followed afterward. As the blonde kunoichi sauntered deeper into the apartment, she noticed that Naruto didn't have much furniture in his apartment. There was a couch, a television and something hanging from the wall that suspiciously looked like a ragged, life-size Kakashi doll. She poked the doll and chuckled when the visible eye (a black button) popped out. Then, there was the kitchen.  
  
Cream-colored tiles lined the counter, gleaming as if they were polished faithfully everyday. There was a bowl of fruits, several empty, clean cups and a jug of water sitting on the table. Ino gaped at the spotless kitchen, inching her way in. She placed the box on the counter and stared wildly around. Curiosity mounting inside the kunoichi, she first opened the cabinets, which to no one's surprise, were stacked with every imaginable flavour of instant ramen. From plain miso to salsa. She closed them shut softly and ventured towards the lone refrigerator. Ino almost laughed out when she saw its content; more instant ramen and crammed between them was a couple of bottled water and some tubes of potato chips.  
  
"When I told you to put it on the counter, it never crosses my mind that you don't know the difference between a counter and a refrigerator."  
  
Ino spun around in an amazing speed that would've impressed even Gai, knocking her head painfully against one of the protruding cabinets. Grimacing, the blonde kunoichi grinned sheepishly at Naruto, who was fully dressed and was tapping his feet expectantly. "Well, I was just trying to find the, er... bathroom."  
  
"The bathroom is definitely not in the fridge, if you ask me," the blonde genin replied coolly, the tapping sound continued. "I was in it, you know."  
  
Sensing defeat, Ino took the easiest way out; apologizing. "Okay, fine. I was sneaking around, but it's just because I'm concerned about you."  
  
The tapping continued.  
  
"And a little bit curious?"  
  
Naruto shrugged, crossing the kitchen in two long strides and slammed the fridge shut. He turned to glare at the twitching Ino. "Don't do that again. I don't like people spying on my things."  
  
"What things? There're only ramen everywhere," the kunoichi retorted, backing off from Naruto and sat on a stool, pouting cutely. She twiddled with the knot that secured the cloth around her forgotten lunch box. "I made you some rice balls. And last night's sushi."  
  
"You brought me leftovers?" Naruto gawked incredulously at the smiling girl.  
  
"Of course not, dummy. We had sushi last night and being the sensible, thoughtful, beautiful kunoichi that I am, I ordered extra and save it for you," she answered solemnly. "So technically, it's not leftovers."  
  
Naruto snorted and took a seat on a stool next to the one Ino had occupied, slowly unwrapping the box. The blonde girl watched him with a comical mix of anticipation and anxiety. Putting aside the cloth imprinted with blooming flowers, the genin stared at the small, wooden box. A lily was carved on its top, the lacquered surface winking proudly at the glare of light. It was a fine piece of handcraft altogether, and a surprisingly sweet smell wafted out from inside the container. Casting a sidelong glance at Ino, Naruto opened the box, revealing neatly lined rice balls and a small space filled with several types of sushi. He reached out for the rice balls and popped one into his mouth, half-expecting a horrible taste that would cause him to vomit.  
  
But it never came.  
  
The rice ball was, to put it in words, unusually nice and delicious.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Naruto blinked at the fidgeting blonde, his mouth chewing busily as he took out another rice ball. Swallowing it whole, he winked. "Not bad. Seeing that you made this yourself, it's at least edible."  
  
A sigh of relief and Ino took one of the rice balls herself. "I just learnt how to make it yesterday. This is like an experiment. I wanted to make some for Shika and Choji too."  
  
"Hwu hmean thish htingh canh ahtuahlly hkill pehpel?"  
  
[Translation: "You mean this thing can actually kill people?"]  
  
"Don't talk with your mouth full," the kunoichi scowled as she expertly dodged the bits of rice that spewed out of Naruto's mouth. "No, they can't. I've already gave my cat one and she didn't die. Thank goodness for that."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
"You're disgusting," Ino hopped down from the stool and dusted the back of her pants. "I have to go. See you later?"  
  
"Yeah," he looked up from the box, mouth full with rice and thin slices of fish. "Htanks!"  
  
"Remember to give me back the box."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
-!-  
  
Sakura thought that it was weird.  
  
Very, very weird for Naruto to look so happy when Kakashi-sensei was even later than usual.  
  
The pink-haired kunoichi was currently sitting with her back against a tree, a book propped open in front of her. She had tried to concentrate on the simple jutsus listed on the book but was unable to do so because of a certain blonde genin that was happily flipping kunai towards a badly- scratched tree. All kunai were driven deep into the tree trunk, forming a pattern that looked suspiciously like a giant rice ball. Sakura shook her head and tore her eyes away from Naruto, locking them instead at her long- time crush. Sasuke-kun. The dark-haired genin could be seen reciting some kind of mantra or something, meditating uncomfortably on a boulder not far from Sakura. He would twitch once in a while, before began reciting again.  
  
Tired of the deafening silence, Sakura shut the book with a snap and paced hesitantly towards Naruto. The guilt was too strong to overcome, and Inner Sakura had been annoyingly persistent. "Er... Naruto?"  
  
"Yeah?" the blonde genin nodded to show that he was listening but made no whatsoever effort to stop flipping kunai at the tree, his eyes trained onto their one direction.  
  
"I'm sorry," the kunoichi fiddled with her pink lock of hair. Inner Sakura was sombrely doing a war dance. Sakura flinched, before continuing, "About those thing that I said."  
  
Naruto stopped flipping at once. He brushed away a few stray strands of hair, and stared up proudly at his kunai 'masterpiece'. "What things?"  
  
"What I've said to you, about not liking you in this team," Sakura inhaled deeply. "I was wrong to say that, I'm sorry."  
  
"You're right," the kunoichi's head snapped upward and she immediately reddened when she found herself staring straight into a pair of sky blue orbs. "Who wants to be teamed with a demon vessel, right? None of your fault at all, Sakura."  
  
A sharp twinge of guilt stabbed her heart when she realised the absentee of the usual '-chan' that generally followed her name. "Demo-"  
  
"Kakashi-sensei is here."  
  
As if on perfect cue, a cloud of smoke appeared next to a blinking Sakura, revealing a certain perverted Jounin sensei as it dispersed into thin air. "Ohayo!"  
  
"KAKASHI-SENSEI, YOU ALMOST GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"  
  
The experienced Jounin instinctively backed away at the murderous rage in Sakura's voice, years of dealing with homicidal missing Nins and typical bad guys like Zabuza gave him some sort of instinct to avoid unwanted bloodshed. Perhaps it was best not to mention the fact that Sasuke had also backed away and toppled over from the boulder, landing heavily on his butt. The raven-haired boy uncharacteristically winced and bolted up onto his feet, an unusual frown adorning his pretty face. The dull 'Thud!' earlier had caused the other three shinobi turned their attention to Sasuke and Kakashi was saved from a horrible, horrible death under the wrath of Inner Sakura.  
  
The pink-haired girl instantaneously scampered towards her precious Sasuke- kun, worry and fascination etching onto her face. She stood fidgeting two feet away from the frowning boy. "Daijobu desu ka?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
Kakashi chuckled lightly but turned one serious eye towards Naruto, who had started flipping kunai again. The Jounin coughed pointedly. "Naruto, how did you know that I was coming?"  
  
"A hunch," the blonde genin nonchalantly answered. "Sakura had started rambling anyway. That's just an excuse to make her stop from boring me to death."  
  
"Hunch, huh?" Kakashi rubbed a thumb along his jaw line as he glanced to make sure that Sasuke and Sakura (who was swooning over him like he had been gravely injured) were out of earshot. "Is there something wrong, Naruto? Iruka told me that you hadn't talk to him often nowadays."  
  
The genin snorted loudly, and a question mark popped visible on top of the silver-haired Jounin's head. Naruto grinned cheekily at his sensei, which was followed by a mischievous wink. "You seem to be in good term with Iruka- sensei, ne, Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi snapped, unconsciously falling into Naruto's trap and was diverted from the topic he had brought up earlier.  
  
"Nothing," Naruto replied, sauntering in a leisurely pace towards his two team mates. He paused and yelled over his shoulder. "Hurry up, perverted sensei. We have an exam to pass!"  
  
There was something odd about the way Naruto walk that made the Jounin raised one questioning eyebrow. Kakashi scratched the back of his head, sighed and deftly pushed the corner of an Icha Icha deeper into his back pocket. Sasuke was muttering something to a flushed Sakura, with Naruto watching them warily from some distance away. The silver-haired man disappeared into a puff of smoke and reappeared on the boulder where Sasuke had once meditated on, ruffling the Uchiha's hair fondly. Sasuke retaliated by slapping his hand away, cursed under his breath and glared at Naruto, who despite the clearly challenging glare, just grinned and continued on with his watching task. Kakashi laughed happily at the stunned look painted on Sakura's face.  
  
They were still, after all, proud members of Team Seven.  
  
-!-  
  
Ino crouched vigilantly behind a thick bush, her eyes scouting the area for any sign of movement. Three kunai were clasped tightly among her fingers as she began to move slowly towards another bush, after making sure that there was no one at sight. The blonde kunoichi gritted her teeth when the weight behind her back clanged together, and that would be a disadvantage as she was trying to move as stealthy as she could. Shifting to a more comfortable position, Ino tightened the leather straps and gave the bag a pat. Before she could move a muscle, the whistling sound of kunai reached her ears. The kunoichi rolled out of harm's way just in time to dodge another hail of kunai and shuriken. Ino cursed under her breath as she pulled out more kunai from a pouch.  
  
"You're dead."  
  
The kunoichi looked up in frustration at the blonde genin, who was grinning down at her with a sharp kunai pressed lightly against her neck. "Fine. I'm dead. How'd you do that? I swore I saw you at the back of that tree."  
  
"Kage Bunshin," Naruto simply replied, pocketing the kunai and pulled Ino up onto her feet. "Distract your enemy with a clone, and you have the full advantage of sneaking up to them."  
  
"That's not fair. A Jounin-level jutsu against me and my kunai," she retorted hotly, wiping the dirt of her hands.  
  
Naruto shrugged. "I didn't exactly use that clone against you. You, on the other hand, should be more cautious to your surrounding. The enemy ain't going to wait and give out their position to you, you know."  
  
"You talk as if we're in a battle or something."  
  
"The Chuunin exam allows killing, and that means something," the genin snapped, his blue eyes blazing angrily at Ino. "I don't want you to hand your neck to those genins from other hidden villages just because you think that they won't kill you."  
  
Taking a step back from Naruto, the kunoichi held up her hands in a defensive stance. "Okay, I'm sorry. Geez... you sound more and more like Asuma-sensei nowadays."  
  
"I guess I'm sorry too," he chuckled, the tension starting to disappear. "For snapping at you."  
  
"Anyway, I found something yesterday when I cleaned the attic," Ino jogged towards her backpack and after a brief search, she held out a scroll in triumph. "Here it is!"  
  
Naruto arched an eyebrow, making his way to the kunoichi. "What's that?"  
  
"The Yamanaka Scroll," Ino explained excitedly as she began unrolling the scroll open. "Dad once told me about it but he said that it was lost. That old man must've misplaced it and never found the scroll again. At least it's a good thing Mum forced me to clean that place."  
  
"Is there anything special about this scroll?"  
  
"All the Yamanaka family jutsus are in here, even the ones that no one ever seen," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, grinning at Naruto. "I wonder if there's something that can be useful for us."  
  
To her surprise, Naruto shook his head and smiled. "Nope, not for 'us'. For 'you'. "  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"It's your family scroll, not mine. If I learn any of those jutsus, then the secret of Yamanaka will no longer remain a secret," the genin clarified. "But, I can help you train, if you want to."  
  
Ino gaped at him for a good while, before her lips curved into a smile. "Okay, then. Let's see what we have here first, ne?"  
  
"After you."  
  
There was a long list of jutsus encrypted in the scroll, using old Hiragana, followed by the description of each jutsu and several other precautions when trying to learn them. Ino and Naruto both took a long time trying to figure out what was written on the scroll as the writings were either smudged by ink or faded through time. One thing that they noticed was that those Yamanaka jutsus overall focused on mind and chakra control. There was one long paragraph dedicated solely to her Bloodline Limit, the Shintenshin. It turned out that the Shintenshin was not merely a mind- controlling jutsu that Ino had come to know, but could be used differently and effectively. Naruto had grinned when he realised that Ino had wrongly underestimated the Shintenshin.  
  
The kunoichi, meanwhile, had found two old jutsus that attracted her. She carefully placed the scroll on her lap and continued reading, becoming more and more fascinated as she delved deeper into their uses and the mysteries of it. Ino scanned the paragraph carefully, making mental notes on how to manipulate a small amount of chakra to create a powerful jutsu, or how hand seals helped to change one jutsu to another in just a nick of time. She looked up at Naruto; who was leaning against a tree besides her with his eyes closed, before looking down again at the scroll. Ino shook her head and continued on reading more about the two jutsus that she had decided on learning. They were not very difficult to learn, yet she needed to concentrate and practice them a lot.  
  
Naruto cracked open an eye and smiled when he saw that the kunoichi had actually took the exam seriously, not like the old, absorbed-with-Sasuke Ino. "There's hope after all for you, Ino," he whispered softly, before closing his eyes again, Kyuubi's voice rang mockingly inside his head.  
  
_Child, remember the oath of revenge, our promises to each other.  
  
_TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
I will say that this is a payback for the last chapter, coz this one is longer and (hopefully) better. And that Yamanaka scroll is just my creation, just so Ino can have several advantages. Poor her... Anywho, Neko says sorry to all of you. Dunno why, though. Did she do something bad?  
  
It seems like you're starting to lose interest in this story. -sobs- Please tell me if there's anything that I should do in making this fic better. Review kudasai!  
  
The reason behind Naruto's 'evil' attitude is revealed in this chapter. Yeah, he did sound a bit vengeful but ya know, it's for the sake of the story. -shrugs- Hope you won't harpoon me because of that.  
  
Thank you for the reviews (though they're decreasing rapidly);  
  
Licht Sieger: So now you know Naruto's little 'evil' thing. I admit that I didn't emphasize much on that for the last four chapters, gomen ne! I promise you that this story will have more angst later. -nods-  
  
Inferno-Dragonz: Arigato for your reviews! -glinting eyes- Wai! You reviewed each chapter! Take these cookies; take as much as you want! -thrust a boxful of cookies to Inferno Dragonz- Enjoy! Just don't tell anyone I give you those, especially the insurance company.  
  
Eiko-san: Yes, I will make Ino train. Hard. -beams evilly at Eiko-san- So, please keep on reviewing!  
  
Night-Owl123: Thanks you! Such nice thing to say about my story! -turn to look at Inferno-Dragonz- Share that cookies with Night-Owl123!  
  
MC-88: Oh, thank you too! -grins- I'll just keep on writing and you keep on reading and reviewing, 'kay?  
  
Stizzo: The first one to review this chapter! -glomps at Stizzo- Arigato!! Double cookies goes to you!  
  
Thank you all you good people who had reviewed. To those who read but don't review, please do! I'm running low in review supply and if this continues, I'll be dying soon. -sobs- Review kudasai!!  
  
Until next time; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!  
  
Kaara 


	7. A New Face

Title: Fighting All Odds  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary so far: Increased training had set Naruto and his team mates apart, though he obviously didn't care about that. Ino, meanwhile, found the Yamanaka Scroll and decided to learn some new jutsus, perfecting her Shintenshin as well.  
  
Say, I'm very happy to know that you're still reading this. Arigato for your tremendous support and reviews. I received a review from an unknown person that stated that I've been asking too much for reviews. Yeah, well, it is my fault and I promise I won't pester you guys for reviews anymore. It's just that when I read those nice and encouraging things that you wrote, I felt... contented. And very, very, very happy.  
  
...  
  
Okay, enough with all this! On with the fic!  
  
Notes:  
  
"speech"

_Kyuubi's speech  
  
_-!-  
  
Chapter Seven: A New Face  
  
It had been two weeks since Naruto and Ino started training together. The weights, that started off as one metal plate of twenty pound were gradually replaced with heavier ones as they slowly, but surely became accustomed to the excessive load. These metal weights were by then strapped not only to their backs, but also to their wrists and legs as the needs to strengthen those parts of their bodies arose. Naruto, being the one with more stamina, had advanced several plates ahead of the kunoichi, much to her outspoken annoyance whenever the genin beat her in one of their sparring matches. But Ino knew that her strong point lay not with her physical strength, but with her control over both chakra and mind. And that was why she concentrated hard on the Yamanaka Scroll.  
  
The Yamanaka Scroll, as Shikamaru would've put it, was awfully tiresome as it consisted of many long paragraphs that could take ages to finish reading. But, instead of watching clouds all day, like the pony-tailed lad would've done, Ino spent her free times poring over the scroll, making small notes and practicing hand seals at intervals. That surprised most of the people around her, especially her Academy friends as the blonde kunoichi appeared to prefer bending over some old, worn scroll than strolling in the park with them. Ino took no heed of what they were probably thinking about her as she faithfully devoted herself to understand the true power of Shintenshin, which was a very complicated yet interesting subject to further experiment upon.  
  
Ino was, as those who have known her, simple minded.  
  
Therefore, she followed her single-tracked mind with passion and determination.  
  
Her goal was to pass the Chuunin Exam through her own hands and effort.  
  
And of course, kick Sakura's butt and impress dear Sasuke-kun at the same time.  
  
Naruto wiped away the dirt that smeared his sweaty forehead, panting heavily as he flopped onto the ground. The blonde immediately regretted that particular action as the metal plates dug uncomfortably into his back, forcing him to roll onto a side. He winced and stared bleary-eyed at Ino, who was still resolutely trying to perfect a new jutsu that she had discovered within the Yamanaka Scroll. After blinking a couple of times, Naruto forced himself up, propping a hand for support at a nearby tree. He swayed, dangerously close to collapsing again and grudgingly admitted that running twenty laps around the clearings with a new set of weights was not a very good idea. The genin made his way wearily towards the frowning kunoichi.  
  
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, looking at the frustrated look on Ino's face as her eyes continued to skim through the scroll before her. "You look like you're going to kill someone."  
  
Ino shook her head and the frown darkened. "That will certainly be a good way to vent out my anger but as you're the only one here and I don't wanna lose a sparring partner, so there's nothing wrong."  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Naruto craned his neck and looked over her shoulder at the scroll. All he saw was yet another long paragraph. "Want my help with anything?"  
  
"Not really," Ino sighed and smiled at the genin. She placed her index finger at the top of the said paragraph. "This is a jutsu that I wanted to learn. The Hoshi Heki (Star Barrier). I can understand the theory, it's just the practical stuff that I failed to do."  
  
"What's this Hoshi Heki thingy, anyway?"  
  
The kunoichi grinned and began explaining with enthusiasm, as if she was eager to show off the incredible jutsu of her family line. "It's a jutsu that can be used as a defence and offence at the same time, though it's more towards a defensive move. See this, the five points of the star painted underneath the paragraph? Well, that's what the outcome of this jutsu supposed to be. It can create some sort of an invisible shield by concentrating a small amount of chakra to any five points on the ground, which will develop and defend the user from external assault. The smaller the area is, the stronger the shield will be. And it also depends on the amount of chakra used."  
  
Naruto nodded slightly, digesting the bits of information that Ino had explained. "You said that the jutsu can be defensive and offensive. What's the offensive part?"  
  
"Because the shield can't last longer than five minutes, the jutsu will eventually have to be released," Ino continued in a supposedly wise tone that made the genin snicker loudly. "Then, it will be a waste of chakra and energy. But, this shield can be forced to dissipate as a kind of wind wall, where the user released the chakra that binds this shield to the five points and literally pushed it towards the enemy using the freed chakra."  
  
One blonde eyebrow raised in appreciation. "That sounds cool. So, what's your problem?"  
  
"I'm used to concentrating in using the Shintenshin, so I had no problem in that area. But this jutsu is harder to control as I have to make sure that the chakra is evenly distributed to the five points. If not, the shield that resulted from the unbalanced chakra will be weaker and chakra- consuming as well. Don't get me started about the releasing part," Ino replied in an exasperated tone, shaking her head.  
  
"It never did you good if you give up before you even try it," Naruto stated calmly. "If you keep telling yourself you can't do something, you'll never move forward. I know you can do this, so you better do. I ain't wasting my time with some cowardy chicken-head."  
  
Despite the name-calling, Ino smiled at the blonde genin, rolled the scroll and tucked it safely inside her backpack. "Yeah, I'll try it after this. But now, I'm starving! Let's get something to eat first."  
  
"Ichiraku!" Naruto immediately cheered out the name of his favourite ramen stand.  
  
The kunoichi glared in evident displease at him. "Not ramen again. I've had enough of that thing to last a whole eternity."  
  
"Please. Pretty please...," large dewy eyes stared up at Ino as Naruto pouted in his cutest foxy way, forcing the kunoichi to take one step back and grimaced at the effect of the invincible Puppy Eyes no Jutsu, that was taught to the blonde genin by none other than the most powerful wielder of it; Moegi of the Konohamaru Corps.  
  
As of the instant result of the jutsu, Ino subsequently surrendered, muttering under her breath about forbidden techniques and a certain cursed blonde running amok with unusual ramen addiction along their way to the infamous ramen stand. Naruto was already ahead, humming happily to himself a self-taught song that worshipped the creator of ramen and the owner of Ichiraku, inserting himself as a lonely hero in search of the true flavour of ramen somewhere between the lines. Clearly annoyed by the sound that emitted continuously from that fox boy, the kunoichi sped up and smacked her own set of weight against Naruto's head and ran swiftly away, laughing. Naruto, who was still worn out from the laps reacted with several well- chosen curses and shuriken.  
  
-!-  
  
"Are you ready?"  
  
Ino nodded, focusing her undivided attention in completing the hand seal for the Hoshi Heki as Naruto stood twenty metres away, silently watching the kunoichi's slender fingers moved to and fro with resolute determination and confidence. After the short break at Ichiraku, Naruto and Ino had gone straight back to the clearing, as the kunoichi finally deciding that she didn't give a damn about failing anymore and decided to strive headlong into the unknown future, even with an annoying dead-last besides her. Naruto had taken that one as a downright insult and they spent another hour sparring against each other, to which Naruto was announced the undisputed winner. He slipped out four newly-sharpened kunai from the pouch strapped to his leg and waited for Ino's signal.  
  
Finishing the last of the hand seal, Ino shouted, "Ninpou: Hoshi Heki no Jutsu!"  
  
It was as if nothing had happened; she had both her palms slammed flat onto the ground; beads of perspiration started rolling down her face as she struggled to hold on to whatever unseen shield that she had formed to make it last longer. Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto could make out a flicker of something poking out from the ground, like sprouting seeds breaking through the surface. Shrugging off his doubt and curiosity, Naruto wasted no time and flicked the kunai towards Ino, afraid that the longer he lagged behind; the kunoichi would eventually wear her chakra off. To his surprise, the first kunai was deflected a few inches away from Ino, and dropped soundlessly onto the ground. Though the other three zoomed their way straight towards the blonde kunoichi.  
  
Ino jumped aside just in time to dodge the speeding kunai, one of them succeeded in grazing her left cheek and crimson liquid leaked lazily from the small cut. Wiping the blood hastily away in pure excitement, the kunoichi bounded towards Naruto and beamed at him, a radiant smile painted onto her shining face. "Did you see that? Did you see that? The jutsu worked!"  
  
"Yeah," the blonde genin grinned, amused at the display of childish antic in front of him. He smothered down a fit of laughter just so Ino wouldn't feel offended. "But I couldn't see the shield just now, so you have to tell me what happened."  
  
"I did explain to you before that the shield is supposed to be invisible," she began, "When I felt the chakra flowing through my palms and into the ground, it was the weirdest chill that had ever run inside my veins. I managed to pinpoint the exact five points but maybe I distributed the chakra not evenly enough so it couldn't stay up for long. What d'you think?"  
  
Naruto cocked his head to one side and gave the kunoichi a lopsided grin. "Well, it certainly looked like you've got the right thing going. I guess you needed a lot of practice to perfect that one, and don't forget bout your hand-on-hand combat skill. You're way behind me on that."  
  
Ino stuck out her tongue in a severely matured way and huffed loudly. "Arrogant urchin-head. Just wait until I learn all those jutsus; you can never beat me again."  
  
"Until that time comes, which I doubt will be soon, you better make sure you're up to the challenge, loudmouthed chicken-head," teased Naruto, laughing at the annoyed look on Ino's face as she pouted at him. He shook his head and smiled. "Wanna have another round of this shield jutsu of yours?"  
  
"Sure thing!"  
  
The blonde genin lazily took out another bunch of kunai and stared thoughtfully at them, before grinning at Ino. "You're lucky you had me for sparring partner, you know. If I'm Kakashi-sensei instead, you're probably going to be pelted with all sort of heavy stuff, maybe even that boulder over there. He's such a sadistic bastard sometimes."  
  
The only answer he got for that was a wave of resounding chuckle.  
  
-!-  
  
It was late in the evening that they bid goodbye to each other. Ino sauntered towards her house with a very satisfied expression on her tired face, as the barrier of her Hoshi Heki improved a tad more each time she performed the jutsu. It stayed up for a mere two seconds for the first time and by the end of the day, the kunoichi had managed to hold it up for a whole fifteen seconds; a slow improvement but an improvement nonetheless as she had grasped the basis needed to learn these Yamanaka jutsus. It was a useful exercise because it helped the blonde kunoichi to slowly increase her chakra control and also the supply of it, due to the continuous strain in the practice of this said jutsu shield. Ino hadn't known that of course, but she didn't care.  
  
Finally, she was doing something appropriate for training.  
  
Naruto watched the retreating figure with a mix of fatigue and amusement. Fatigue as he was thoroughly spent from all those matches and movement; amusement as he recalled each and every one of Ino's thrilled outburst every time the shield lasted longer. One look at the blonde kunoichi and people wouldn't have thought that she could be so... impulsive. Naruto was used to think of Ino as this bossy, ignorant big sister kinda girl but once he started spending some time with her, he found out many uncanny things about the kunoichi. Uncanny, as they were not usual at all. Collecting the used kunai and shuriken from their last match, Naruto looked up at the darkening sky, where early stars were winking down at him.  
  
That was when he felt the presence of another person in the clearing.  
  
Casually reaching down for a kunai, Naruto said, in a cool tone, "I know you're there. Show yourself."  
  
A rustle of leaves followed that statement. The blonde genin turned to face the direction where that cackling sound came from, expecting a foe or someone equally threatening. What he didn't expect was for a timid, pale purple-eyed kunoichi to step forward, her two index fingers twiddled nervously around each other. "It's... it's just me, Naruto-kun."  
  
"Hinata-chan?" he looked in pleasant surprise at the girl, who instantly blushed when he had mentioned her name. Naruto slipped back the kunai into his pouch and placed both hands behind his head, laughing. "I thought you were an enemy or something. Good thing I didn't attack you."  
  
"Gomen if, uh... I disturb, um, you," the Hyuuga ex-heiress stammered out, the shade of red that coloured her cheeks turned darker. Her bowed head looked up for a brief second, flushed even redder and the pupil-less eyes blinked. "I was, uhm... practicing, uh, when I... I heard you, um, talking to... Ino-san."  
  
The blonde genin smiled and headed towards the kunoichi, whose eyes widened and immediately snapped down, looking at her pair of shuffling feet. Naruto stopped in front of Hinata, measured her up and said, "It's been quite a while since I saw you."  
  
"Ha... hai. I did, uh, see you with, um... Ino-san," she clamped her mouth quickly, afraid that Naruto would thought that she had spied on him and Ino. Truth to be told, she had spied on them, only not so conspicuously obvious before. She had used the Byakugan back then, staring through brick walls and apartments towards the figures sparring in the clearing. It was only that day that Hinata had managed to pick up the courage to go closer, and that earned her a private conversation with Naruto. Thinking about that brought fresh magenta patches invading her already-flushed cheeks. "Um, gomen ne, Naruto-kun?"  
  
"No need to be sorry," a sudden idea crossed his mind and being a straight forward person, Naruto carefully asked the blushing Hinata. "Have you been watching us earlier, when Ino did her jutsu?"  
  
The Hyuuga blinked again and nodded in embarrassment. "Hai."  
  
"Were you using those weird eyes of yours?"  
  
Hinata winced, but nodded nonetheless. She was looking through the tree where she hid herself anyway. "Is... is there, um, something wrong, Naruto- kun?"  
  
"No," Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly at the girl. "I was just wondering if you can give your opinion on her chakra control level."  
  
Hinata's head shot upward like a startled doe, the already-wide eyes if possible had grown wider. "Oh no! I can't possibly... I'm not that good. Dear Leaf, I can't, uh, judge Ino-san... like that!"  
  
"But I know you can," the blonde genin insisted softly. "You might even see that Hoshi Heki shield. Please, Hinata-chan. Do this for me, please?"  
  
"I... I can't," her weak attempt of a denial was cut short by a firm hand placing itself on her shoulder. Mauve orbs met sky-blue ones, and the kunoichi surrendered to her heart weakly. She nodded ever so lightly and stared up at Naruto with a small smile adorning her feature. "Okay, but I... can't, um, promise you that... that I'm entirely right."  
  
Naruto smiled brightly. "That's good enough for me. So, how was it?"  
  
"Well, Ino-san did have, uh, a fine control over... a fine control over her, um, her chakra and that... shield can be, um, stronger," she hesitated, before continuing, "But there's a, uh, mistake... yes, mistake that occurred at, um, times."  
  
"Mistake?" the genin arched an eyebrow, curiosity gnawing him from the inside. "Like what, Hinata-chan?"  
  
"She concentrated too... much on, um, fine-tuning her... her chakra to the five... five points that the jutsu, uh, the jutsu itself cannot develop to... its peak. The shield wavered... um, and disappeared without fully, uh, fully maturing. That's... all that I... I know, Naruto-kun."  
  
Nodding his head thoughtfully, Naruto noted mentally everything that Hinata had told him, so that he could provide Ino with the information. The blonde genin removed his hand from Hinata's shoulder (much to her disappointment, as she had begun to like the warm feeling) and grinned foxily at the girl. "See, it's not that bad. I honestly think that you're a really good genin, Hinata-chan."  
  
"Arigato, Naruto-kun," the said Hyuuga blushed deep red and began twiddling her fingers again. She cast the darkening sky a worried glance and hastily bowed at Naruto. "I have to, um, go. It is inappropriate for me... for a Hyuuga to walk, uh, around during nightfall."  
  
Naruto scoffed. "Who give a damn about that anyway?"  
  
"We do," Hinata smiled gently and before the genin could say a thing, she had already disappeared from sight, leaving Naruto alone in the clearing with an incredulous expression etched onto his face.  
  
"No wonder you're ALL a bunch of weirdos."  
  
-!-  
  
Naruto had wanted to just go home, get a warm bath, eat some instant ramen and go to bed. His every limb was demanding the same thing, extremely exhausted from that day's events. He walked past a group of old ladies, who automatically scrunched up their withered faces into a look of pure resentment as their beady little eyes narrowed when he stuck out his tongue at them. The old ladies could be seen whispering savagely to one another, casting sickly glances at Naruto at intervals. Completely ignoring the unwanted attention, the blonde genin silently made his way towards the comfort of his small apartment, murmuring out his promise to the demon within as to calm himself. He arrived there, only to be greeted by the sight of a tired-looking Iruka.  
  
"Yo, sensei," the genin cheerfully hailed the Chuunin sensei. "What're you doing here?"  
  
The brown-haired man smiled and ruffled Naruto's spiky locks. "Just checking on you. Where were you, Naruto?"  
  
"Training. Do you wanna come in, Iruka-sensei?"  
  
"No, I had some more papers to grade before tomorrow," the hollow reply was followed with a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry if I didn't spend much time with you nowadays, Naruto. I'm quite busy now and I know you're preparing for the Chuunin exam. Do your best, ne?"  
  
Unlocking the door, Naruto turned to face his all-time favourite sensei and grinned widely. "You don't have to worry about me, Iruka-sensei! I'll be a Chuunin in no time and you're gonna treat me to ramen after that. Deal?"  
  
"Deal," Iruka smiled in ease at his ex-student. "I have to go now. Be careful and don't overdo yourself."  
  
The Chuunin sensei ruffled Naruto's hair for the last time before slowly walked down the corridor, the darkness outside swallowed his body until what was left was only Naruto, standing at his doorstep. The blonde genin gave his head a shake and sauntered inside; securing the door with the heavy bolts set for that very purpose. It was a very tiring, yet satisfactory day for Naruto. He took quite some time to take off the weights, dumping them into a bucket and shoved it under his bed for safekeeping. Naruto flexed his worn-out muscles, hearing the joints crackled as he moved about, preparing his dinner. Placing the kettle of water on top of the lit stove, the genin made his way towards the bathroom, yearning for warm water to wash over his weariness.  
  
Before long, he found himself back inside his dreamscape.  
  
And Kyuubi was waiting faithfully for him.  
  
_Child, it seems that you have an admirer.  
  
_Naruto snorted at the tease, wrapping his arms around the fox's neck. "Yeah, whatever."  
  
The youkai laughed. _You did not care for that? Is not admiration what you dream of?  
  
_"I've got through that stage of my life," the blonde snapped. "All I want now is to become stronger."  
  
_Well said, child. That human female had proved herself to be more worthy than she looks like, now it is your turn to train further under my instruction.  
  
_A groan from Naruto invited another sharp gale of laughter from the fox. "Training again? But I'm tired."  
  
_Your body is tired, yes, but your mind is relatively fresh. Do not chide me for such thing, for I will teach you how to manipulate your chakra like none other mortal can ever do. Consider it a gift that I'm teaching this to you.  
  
_"And I'm supposed to feel extreme gratitude because of this?"  
  
The Kyuubi delicately stood up onto his four legs, with Naruto lying on his back. Golden eyes narrowed to slits in evident delight. _That is the general idea, child. Now, only use what you learn here in dangerous situations. Do not show it off for the other mortals are bound to be suspicious. Understand?  
  
_"Whatever you say, Kyuubi-_chan_."  
  
_Indeed, you are correct. Follow my words, and I will give you the world.  
  
_Burying his face to the crook of the youkai's neck, Naruto said something that made the fox laughed again, the echoes of mirth resounding around them as they disappeared in a compliment of a golden and brown blur, sifting through memories after memories in search for a perfect mind training ground for the practice. These memories were sometimes clear, though sometimes too clouded with emotions that they were forced to move to another part. The words that the blonde said hung heavily in the air, as Kyuubi devoured what was left as a fragment of anger and chagrin that had kept him company and well fed throughout the years he had been kept locked inside Naruto. The words itself revealed nothing but deep hatred and malice.  
  
"No, thanks. I'll just have Konohagakure."  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
-wipes her forehead- Whew! Glad that's finished. Yep, I definitely make Kyuubi and Naruto's relationship sounds like a father-and-son relationship or something. Dunno if it appropriate though but I do like to think that Kyuubi had gotten in term with Naruto. And that fox's going to teach Naruto something very useful for future fight, count on it.  
  
The Hoshi Heki no Jutsu is a typically one of the many original jutsus that will eventually unfold themselves as the story goes along. I created this one specifically for Ino, as I have a fighting scene planned already for the future. Yes, she does not control this jutsu well for the time being but she will get better. Definitely better.  
  
Hinata's first appearance in my story! -squeals- She's actually very funny, though very hard to write coz she stammer a lot. There's a challenge for me, that is. I do hope I didn't make her OOC, I really like her.  
  
Just for your information, I'm not particularly fond of Sakura. And Sasuke too. So these two will play important but small role in this story such as unconsciously helping our hero to become stronger or just being there as the team. Now, now, don't kill me for this. If you have any suggestion on how to further use these characters, leave me a review, ne?  
  
Arigato for the lovely, lovely reviews!! You guys are amazing!  
  
Cevgar: Wow, that was long! -blinks- No, I'm not going to make dear Naru into another Itachi, though I really like that Uchiha guy. In the first chapter, I think I did mention that it was after Sakura had ticked Naru off, so literally, he was quite angry and depressed. Poor Shika... I'll think about the whole Ino-dying-for-Naru thingy but honestly, the story just kinda write itself, ya know. She is strong-willed, independent and all that stuff and I like her for that. I'll try to emphasize more on her personality development too. Arigato!  
  
Licht Sieger: Yes, I do hope that you have managed to understand the reason behind Naruto's odd angsty attitude. Sorry bout your story but I promise I'll read them once I have time to. I'm kinda busy nowadays. -grins-  
  
TheGreatAnimeFan: Why, thank you for your review! This cookies goes to you!  
  
Stizzo: -gasps- WHAT?! You don't like cookies?! But... but EVERYBODY love cookies! I mean... cookies are good. -horror struck expression-  
  
ErikKoekKoek: -giggles- What a funny name you have... And thanks for reviewing! Well, it's not really I've 'envisioned' the story; it's more towards the story envisioning itself. So, -embarrassed grin- I'm here just for typing it down. Uh, slave of the words...  
  
A Reviewer: Thanks for reviewing but I didn't fairly use kunai and shuriken because I'm a fangirl. Okay, I am a fangirl, literally, but I'm honestly into this anime (Naruto) because the anime itself is superb. Besides, kunai and shuriken are the easiest weapons to wield for a ninja so I'm sticking to it for now. I don't like a certain anime just because I like some cool guys in there, but I consider its plotlines as well. I'm truly sorry about the 'Review kudasai' thingy but I really love reviews. More than I love cookies or potato chips. I'd love to update the story as fast as I can but you see, I'm still a student, so my time goes for studying first. So this is all that I can offer. Gomen ne! I really appreciate your review, though. It's a really eye-opener.  
  
Okay, those who read but don't review, it's okay. I just hope that you enjoy the story as well. So this is goodbye for now. I'm looking forward for next time.  
  
Until then; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!  
  
Kaara


	8. A New Village

Title: Fighting All Odds  
  
By: Kaara  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.  
  
Summary so far: ... I'm too lazy to make up any summary nowadays...  
  
Yosh! Another chapter coming right up! Time lapse rule! Oh yeah, this chapter is the day before that Chuunin exam; I'm getting kinda tired beating around the bushes. Anywho, there will be surprises waiting coz the last chapters held everything normal (technically) but in this one, I'll introduce some of my OCs that'll play important roles in the story line. The chapter will be loads longer and it's from various points, not only resolving around Naruto. So, enjoy!  
  
Notes:  
  
"speech"  
  
_thoughts  
  
[Kyuubi's speech]  
  
_On with the fic!  
  
-!-  
  
Chapter Eight: A New Village.  
  
"Do you think that it'll be easy or hard?"  
  
Naruto briefly glanced at the blonde kunoichi besides him, before turning his attention back to the bowl of ramen that he was currently attending to. "I don't know. Never take the exam before, obviously."  
  
"Well, I hope we can find a bit of a challenge there," Ino replied, grinning. "If not, all that hellish training's for nothing."  
  
"Excited, aren't we?" he teased, placing the chopsticks horizontally on top of the empty bowl. "Just calm down and you'll do fine. Like you did to Sasuke-bastard and Sakura."  
  
A gigantic grin immediately etched itself onto Ino's face. "Hell yeah!"  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Almost perfect, Ino. Keep on concentrating."  
  
"Shut up, urchin-head! You're distracting me! Oh shit!"  
  
The kunoichi groaned in frustration as she staggered to stand up, a hand rubbing the side of her head while another one supported herself up from her current kneeling position. She shot Naruto a death glare and stomped towards the genin, who looked like he was unsure whether to run or to stay. Deciding that it was too late to escape, Naruto stood still at his spot, praying that he would somehow survive whatever that Ino had in store for him. She had become more and more vicious those days, lashing out physically, instead of vocally like before. Naruto seriously didn't know if that was a side-effect from learning those Yamanaka jutsus but if Ino was scary while they were still in the Academy, she had climbed up a notch and reached the 'Terrifying Level'.  
  
Before Naruto could say something, he was forced to take a few steps back as to avoid a fist from breaking his nose. The genin grinned sheepishly at the murderous-looking Ino, backing away even more. "Geez... Ino-chan, I was just cheering you on."  
  
"I've told you before; Not. A. Sound. While. I. Practice. The. Jutsu. Which part of it that you didn't understand?" this time, the question was followed by a barrage of kicks and punches, that Naruto casually either sidetracked or evaded.  
  
"I was bored. No need to get homicidal, eh?"  
  
Something sharp slashed across his cheek as he jumped back to avoid another fist and both genins stopped fighting at once. Naruto knew that it was not Ino who had caused it; the kunoichi was far too proud to use any weapon in their playful spar, despite the murderous rage in her voice and the constant murder threats. He was right for just as their eyes travelled to one end of the clearing, the two teens tensed at once. Smirking at them with an annoyingly superior expression on his face was none other than the number one rookie; Uchiha Sasuke himself, with Sakura standing behind him. Naruto and Ino exchanged baleful glances; they knew someone would sooner or later figure out what they had been doing, though knowing that didn't reduce the uneasiness of it.  
  
"I was wondering what you have been doing these days, dobe," the Uchiha survivor started, onyx eyes regarded Naruto and Ino with mock surprise. "Now I can see that instead of real training, you're enjoying this child's play."  
  
Naruto returned the smirk with one of his own, his reply dripping with evident sarcasm. "Why, never in my humble life have I ever dreamt of the great, high-and-mighty Uchiha Sasuke to even acknowledge my unworthy existence. What have I done to deserve your attention, o great one? Kick you in the groin?"  
  
"Naruto! Don't you dare say something like that about Sasuke-kun!" gasped an enraged pink-haired kunoichi, her fist swinging wildly over her head after she had managed to get over the shock of hearing a complete sentence poured out of her precious Sasuke's mouth. "Sasuke-kun is not like... like you!"  
  
"That's one thing I should be thankful about," muttered the blonde, inviting a chuckle from Ino. "Ne, Ino-chan?"  
  
The said kunoichi shrugged, her eyes locked in mild interest at Sakura, who was fawning over a very pissed off Sasuke. "Stop calling me Ino-chan, urchin-head. Besides, I think you've succeeded in getting yourself a 'friendly' match."  
  
"You're kidding me," Naruto turned his attention back to Sasuke and Sakura, who were both advancing towards them. The fox boy groaned.  
  
Sasuke stopped to a halt several feet from Naruto, his eyes narrowed and fists shaking in cold fury. Nobody, and he meant, NOBODY insults an Uchiha and get away with it. "I'll show you once and for all that you're nothing but a pathetic dead-last."  
  
"Yeah! Ino-pig, we'll bring both of you down, with the power of Love!" chimed in Sakura, excited that she could fight side-by-side with her all- time crush. It was just like one of those romantic shinobi novels that she was so fond of; the heroin and hero fighting against all odds because of their love to each other.  
  
Sasuke twitched uncomfortably, casting a highly annoyed glance at the kunoichi.  
  
Naruto and Ino burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter at the droll statement and Sasuke's reaction to it.  
  
Trying to smother down his laughter, the blonde genin shook his head breathlessly. "Can't we not fight? I mean, it's pointless anyway."  
  
"Oh, now you know that it's pointless," Ino exclaimed innocently, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. "Makes me wonder why you keep challenging me before, urchin-head."  
  
"Ino-chan, that's for your own good."  
  
"STOP CALLING ME INO-CHAN!"  
  
"THEN STOP CALLING ME URCHIN-HEAD!"  
  
"HOW ABOUT BRAINDEAD DIMWIT? DID THAT SOUNDS BETTER?"  
  
"I AM NOT A DIMWIT, LOUDMOUTHED SKINNY PANTS!"  
  
"WHY YOU--!"  
  
Now even more annoyed at the yelling that was echoing around him, Sasuke flicked a kunai towards Naruto, who dodged the speeding weapon effortlessly, all the while muttering under his breath at Ino. The raven- haired Sharingan user gritted his teeth at the display of negligence from the two blonde genins. "Are you afraid of me, dobe? Or have you finally realized that you can never beat me? All that big talk for nothing."  
  
To everyone's surprise, especially Sakura, Ino stopped yelling at once and coolly stared at Sasuke, a cold smirk adorning her feature. "You know, I like you more when you don't talk much." She paused and added, as an afterthought, "Uchiha-san."  
  
The pink-haired kunoichi was so taken aback that she gaped at Ino for a whole five minutes, speechless. Inner Sakura was lying on the ground (in her mind, that is), twitching continuously and her mouth foaming. Shaking herself out of the trance, Sakura stared in disbelief at her ex-best friend and eternal rival. "Ino-pig, you... you..."  
  
"Wow, I didn't know that you stutter, Sakura-chan," the blonde kunoichi continued on her verbal assault. Naruto was grinning like it was his birthday, visibly enjoying the result that came from it. "Must be the side- effect of having a big forehead, ne?"  
  
Before Sakura can launch herself at Ino, a familiar voice stopped her from doing so. Sasuke narrowed his eyes while Naruto and Ino exchanged identical amused grin, smiling at a certain brown-haired Chuunin sensei that was making his way silently towards them. Iruka blinked in confusion at the tense atmosphere that seemed to loom darkly over the four genins, particularly on top of Sasuke and Sakura, not to mention the unusual presence of Ino there. He had also noticed the anger on Sakura's face, which was quite obvious, apart from the twitch of her eyebrows, and the Chuunin wisely avoided walking next to the kunoichi. Iruka smiled warmly at Sasuke, who was still glaring at Naruto. Ino nudged the blonde lightly, beaming at the confused sensei.  
  
"Naruto, I've been searching all over for you," Iruka said, smiling down at his favourite ex-student. "I wanted to treat you to ramen but I think you're busy training right now. Maybe next time--"  
  
"No, sensei! We're just leaving. Can Ino come too?" the brown-haired Chuunin nodded; while Naruto grinned foxily at Sasuke and Sakura. "See you later, ne, team mates?"  
  
Sasuke and Sakura flinched.  
  
-End of Flashback-  
  
Iruka had excused himself shortly after Naruto had devoured his fifteenth bowl of ramen, leaving behind the two teenagers by themselves and some money for the ramen. Thus, it left only Naruto and Ino in the ramen stand, discussing 'seriously' about the probability of Sasuke flunking the exam and Sakura getting over the lone avenger. It had come as a surprise to Ino when she gradually felt less and less towards Sasuke, as she slaved over learning the jutsus and coping with the increasing weights. Maybe what she had for him was just childish sense of competitiveness, not remotely a crush, and very far from love. Ino had contemplated over these dramatic changes that were happening throughout her life and she eventually found one conclusion for them; it was all Naruto's fault.  
  
Watching the blonde genin slurped down the ramen enthusiastically besides her, the kunoichi remembered the time after Naruto had beaten that huge snake. And their short conversation. Ino propped her hand on top of the counter, smiling rather to herself as the memories rushed through her mind, just like a replay from an old movie.  
  
If she wasn't there, then she wouldn't have talked to Naruto.  
  
If she wasn't there, then she wouldn't have trained with him.  
  
If she wasn't there, then she wouldn't have stopped drooling over Sasuke.  
  
If she wasn't there, then she wouldn't have been here.  
  
If she wasn't there, then she...  
  
The trail of thoughts died there when Ino snapped out of her musing, blinking straight into a pair of sky-blue eyes. "What?"  
  
"You were zoning off. I called your name several times already," Naruto complained, wiping the corner of his mouth with his jumper sleeve. "Let's go."  
  
Bowing at the owner of Ichiraku, Ino followed the blonde genin out into the fresh air. She trudged silently besides him; that was before she heard the sound of something scraping against the ground, following them. Curiosity getting a better hold of her, the blonde kunoichi knitted her eyebrows into a frown and slowly turned to face the stalker. Ino's jaw dropped as she sceptically squinted her eyes at the weird object behind them. It was a square box, with supposedly-stone-patterns on it and two holes punctured on one side. Ino could hear the sound of someone breathing from inside it, which was followed by a hasty 'Shhh!' and the sound of someone sneezing. Naruto had stopped too, but for an obviously different reason. He grinned at the perplexed Ino, and nodded at her.  
  
"Okay, you can come out now," Naruto commanded in a bored tone, and the box gave a rather surprised wobble. "I know you guys are in there."  
  
A small explosion followed afterwards, as three figures emerged from inside a cloud of smoke. Ino coughed, waving her hand in front of her face as she glared at Naruto, mouthing out a question, "Wha--?"  
  
"WE ARE THE KONOHAMARU CORPS!"  
  
As soon as those three brats finished posing, Konohamaru, as the official chief of the group stared at Ino first, and then at Naruto. The routine was repeated for the next five minutes, and was soon joined by both Moegi and Udon. Then, to Naruto's horror, they exclaimed, in a very excited way,  
  
"Leader, you've found a new girlfriend!"  
  
Utter silence.  
  
And then...  
  
CLANG!  
  
CLANG!  
  
CLANG!  
  
CLANG!  
  
Ino looked down in satisfaction at the three boys, each with a smoking bump (Naruto had two) on top of their heads. Moegi was poking the seemingly unconscious Konohamaru and Udon with a stick, while Naruto nursed his own throbbing bumps cautiously. He winced at the slightest contact and glared at the blonde kunoichi.  
  
"What was that for?! And why the heck did you hit me two times?!"  
  
"That's for being an idiot," Ino huffed. "And about hitting you twice, you take one for that little girl there."  
  
The blonde genin shot Moegi a nasty look, before standing gingerly up. "Sorry bout the whole 'girlfriend' thing. These kids are... mentally unstable. Especially that one."  
  
As if on cue, Konohamaru slowly returned from the land of unconsciousness. He fingered the bump and stared at Ino with teary eyes. "You're even more ferocious than leader's first girlfriend."  
  
"I don't wanna know," Ino muttered under her breath, helping Naruto up. When she felt someone tugging at her shirt, the blonde kunoichi immediately snapped her head down, intending to clobber the one that did it. She was greeted by...  
  
Puppy Eyes.  
  
The kunoichi groaned mentally. Not again...  
  
Moegi was staring up at Ino, her small lips pursed into a cute pout and her dewy, large eyes blinked continuously. "Ne, ne... Will onee-chan play with us?"  
  
"No, I have to go home," Ino replied a bit uneasily.  
  
"But... but Moegi wants onee-chan to play with us."  
  
"I have to go."  
  
"Play with us, onee-chan," the little girl persistently tugged at Ino's shirt. "Please..."  
  
Ino snapped her head towards Naruto and asked, accusingly, "Did you teach her how to do that?"  
  
"Nope. She's a natural," the blonde genin answered, laughing softly as he watched the kunoichi tried to escape. And as always, nobody could get away from the deadliest jutsu ever known to man; Puppy Eyes no Jutsu.  
  
After another minute of persuading, Ino found herself searching high and low for the troublesome trio and Naruto; they were playing hide-and-seek. Jumping down from a rooftop, the blonde kunoichi grinned as she caught sight of Konohamaru sneaking from behind a house, followed by Moegi and Udon. Naruto was still nowhere to be found. Creeping stealthily towards them, Ino tapped on Udon's shoulder. The boy instinctively hushed her to be quiet, before realizing that there should be no one behind him. Crying out for his two friends to run, they scampered away from Ino, who was laughing so hard, she could barely move. But a faint yell that sounded like Moegi made her stop laughing, and looked straight ahead. Dangling in mid air was Konohamaru.  
  
Held by a black-clothed teen.  
  
Ino rushed forward to help him, but Naruto was faster. The blonde genin suddenly appeared in front of Moegi and Udon, who instantly cowered behind him. His eyes were narrowed and he nodded brusquely at Ino when she stopped to a halt besides him. Then, Naruto said, with a sharp edge in his voice, "Let him down."  
  
"And if I don't want to?" sneered the unknown teen.  
  
His female companion snorted. "Just let the kid go, Kankuro. We have other more important things to do."  
  
The Kankuro boy didn't seem to be listening as he held up Konohamaru even higher. The smaller boy flailed his short arms and legs helplessly but it did as much as Moegi and Udon's yell could do. Nothing. Ino reached down for a kunai but was stopped by a hand on her own. She looked at Naruto, who shook his head. Surrendering to the genin, the blonde kunoichi contented herself by glaring at the two teens before them. The female had ordered the boy to release Konohamaru for the second time, stating something or someone by the name 'Gaara'. Kankuro immediately paled and dropped Konohamaru onto the pavement below. They were wearing forehead protectors with the symbol of... the Sand. Taking a step forward, Ino spoke out.  
  
"Why are you of the Sand in Konoha?" she asked.  
  
The older girl closed her eyes and smirked. She reached down and showed a visitor pass to Ino. "We're here for the Chuunin Exam. Can't you tell?"  
  
Before Ino could say another word, a curt voice sliced through the tense atmosphere, sending unknown shiver down her spine. The kunoichi looked up and was startled to see a red-haired boy hanging upside down from a tree, a big gourd strapped somewhat weirdly to his back. His blank emerald eyes were lined with some kind of a black substance similar to mascara, and then, there was this tattoo on his forehead. Ai. Ino glanced at Naruto, who was also staring curiously at the newcomer. Though considerably smaller than the other two, the redhead seemed to be the leader as he threatened Kankuro about his lack of discipline and stuff. Naruto helped Konohamaru up and softly told the three kids to go back home.  
  
"Let's get going," he whispered to Ino and gently pulled her away from the trio. However, before they could get far, the redhead spoke again.  
  
"Wait," they turned and saw how easily the redhead manipulated swirls of sand to carry him onto the ground. "I'm Gaara of the Sand. What's your name?"  
  
"You'll know once we're in the exam," Naruto replied coolly.  
  
They left the Sand genins staring at their backs.  
  
-!-  
  
The Third Hokage of Konoha rubbed a thumb against his wrinkled temple, taking off the official (and ugly) hat. In his hands were the papers of the participants in the Chuunin Exam; a whole stack of papers. He ran a hand along the smooth surface of the table, searching for his pipe. It was there just a minute ago. Now thoroughly annoyed for not finding the goddamn pipe, Sandaime slowly (if a bit roughly) sifted through the papers. They were filled with the usual information regarding genins from the other hidden villages, their completed missions and their current levels. And they were giving him the worst headache of all. The old man placed the stack carefully on one corner of the table, and that was when he saw the lone envelope.  
  
Sandaime flipped the envelope over and on its back, securing the privacy of whatever matters inside, was a foreign seal. One of a burning sun with the Kanji word for 'Karma' in the very centre of its circle. He stared at the seal for quite some time, before slowly peeling it off. Inside the envelope were yet several pieces of paper, addressed to the Hokage of Konoha. Arching an eyebrow, Sandaime unfolded the papers and began reading them, his eyes widening a bit more with every sentence that he gone through. Once he finished with the papers, his eyes were as big as saucers. Sandaime reached for his hat and walked out of his office, the papers clutched tightly in his hand. He had to assemble the teachers immediately.  
  
A new hidden village would be participating; the Hidden Sun.  
  
-!-  
  
"What do you think, Kakashi?"  
  
The silver-haired Jounin shook his head. "I've never heard of the village 'Hidden Sun'. The Sound, yes, but never about this one."  
  
"They should be arriving about now," Sandaime continued, his beady eyes regarded the other Jounins inside the room wisely; Asuma, Kurenai and Gai. "Shall we let them take the examination?"  
  
The self-proclaimed Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha puffed out his chest, eyes and teeth gleaming abnormally under the flickering light. "WE MUST ALLOW THEM TO PARTICIPATE! THAT WILL BE A FAIR JUDGEMENT AS THEY HAVE OFFICIALLY SENT US A LETTER! OH YES, THEY MUST JOIN IN THE FUN!"  
  
"Yes, yes thank you, Gai-sensei," the Hokage placed a reassuring hand on the energetic (overly, that is) man's shoulder, flinching at the volume of his voice. "What about you, Asuma?"  
  
"Well," the bearded sensei chewed on his straw for a good while, before continuing on his answer, "Maybe Gai is right--"  
  
"MAYBE? DO NOT BE ABSURD! I AM ALWAYS RIGHT, DEAR COMRADE!"  
  
Asuma ignored the loud interruption. "We should give them a chance."  
  
"I agree with Asuma, Sandaime-sama," Kurenai voiced out, her crimson eyes narrowing. "But we shall have to be cautious."  
  
"Cautious? Whatever for, dear lady?"  
  
The musical voice floated into the small room where they were currently holding the meeting. Sandaime and the Jounins whipped their heads towards the entrance, startled as they saw a cloaked figure delicately swept into the room, followed by yet another three cloaked figures. The first one lowered its hood, apparently the leader, revealing the head a beautiful woman in her early twenties. Her eyes were sky-blue; similar to someone's eyes that Kakashi remembered vaguely about, a fine sheet of raven black hair falling gently onto her shoulder and below. Her pair of pale pink lips was curved into an elusive smile, accentuating her light ivory complexion. She bowed at the current occupants of the room, beckoning for her other three companions to do so.  
  
Sandaime coughed pointedly. "I assume that you are from the Hidden Sun."  
  
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the woman answered, smiling at him. "We are here for the Chuunin Exam, as I am sure that you have already known."  
  
"I received your letter," the old man confirmed, in a business-like tone. "Please introduce yourself."  
  
"I am Daitenshi Akki, sensei of these three genins," she waved slightly at the cloaked figures, to which at the signal, dropped their hoods.  
  
The first one was a girl with reddish black hair pulled into a long braid. Her eyes were of the deepest shade of crimson, quite unlike Kurenai's own. There was a diagonal scar marring her right eye, but it did no harm to the crimson pupil. Her hitai-ate was hidden underneath her long bangs as she bowed low.  
  
The second one was yet another girl, though she looked considerably younger than the first. Her pale green hair was short and spiky, with a sharp pair of greenish blue eyes set in a heart-shaped face. She regarded the Konoha Jounins with a faint trace of hidden interest, as if she was measuring how strong they were.  
  
Next to her was a long-haired female (or so they thought), the two bangs that framed her face was jet black while the rest flowed silver down his back. While Kakashi's hair was more towards greyish silver, her hair was of a brighter shade. And so was her pair of silver eyes, staring expressionlessly at them.  
  
There were several similarities between the three teens. They had three metal studs underneath their left eyes, and three piercing on their left ears. Dangling from each neck was a silver necklace with a pendant of a six- pointed star. Sandaime thought that they must have acted as some sort of symbol or recognition.  
  
The young woman spoke again, her azure eyes twinkling like a pair of early stars. "I can see that we, the Hidden Sun owe Konoha explanation for our sudden interest in the Chuunin Exam. However, my disciples are considerably tired from our long journey and I do hope that you can provide them with overnight shelter and maybe some food, if it is not too much to ask. After that, I will answer your questions willingly."  
  
"Very well. I will ask one of my shinobis here--"  
  
Before Sandaime could finish his sentence, a green and black blur suddenly brushed past him in an amazing speed, followed by an even more amazing exclamation. Gai was kneeling in front of the young woman, placing one palm over his heart and a love-struck expression clearly (and horridly) portrayed on his gleaming face. "OH SUCH HEAVENLY BEAUTY! SUCH STUNNING SERENITY! MY LADY, LET ME SERVE YOU TILL THE END OF TIME! LET ME--"  
  
Everyone in the room sweatdropped, excluding the Hidden Sun genins and Daitenshi Akki herself, who was smiling sweetly down at the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha. Kakashi was torn between dragging his eternal rival away from the woman or to disappear and pretend that he had never known anyone by the name Gai. Kurenai and Asuma each have a similar disgusted (and amused) look on their tired faces, grinning awkwardly at the guests. Sandaime, though wise and sensible at all time, was having a difficult time in order to keep his sanity on check. Gai could sometimes be... weird, the old man mused. No, he was all the time weird. But that was not the point. Gai was trustworthy and since he had already offered his service...  
  
Sandaime cleared his throat; though the ultra bowl-cut Jounin was still pouring ceaseless praises about Daitenshi Akki in his high-pitched voice. "It seems that you have found a willing shinobi, Daitenshi-san. He will show your students to a room and tell the cook to prepare early dinner."  
  
"Thank you," she bowed again and turned to face her students. She said something in a low voice and the three genins nodded in unison. Daitenshi Akki smiled at Sandaime, while behind her; the genins placed their hoods back. "They are ready."  
  
"WORRY NOT, MY LADY! I WILL GUIDE THEM SAFELY EVEN THROUGH THE SEA OF FIRE! I WILL MAKE SURE THAT NO HARM BEFALLS THEM! I WILL--"  
  
"Just go, will you Gai?" Kakashi mumbled, pushing the other Jounin out of the door. He signalled for the three teens to follow Gai's resounding voice along the hallway. "If he starts ranting bout anything that doesn't have to do with the Chuunin exam, ignore him."  
  
The three cloaked figures soon vanished, leaving them staring at the empty hallway. Kakashi closed the door with a sigh, directing his visible eye at the cloaked young woman standing in the very centre of the room. "Shall we begin?"  
  
Daitenshi Akki inclined her head in respect, her smile widening.  
  
TBC  
  
A/N:  
  
I cannot believe I survive through this chapter! This is the longest chapter ever. Thank you for reading!! Man, my back is killing me...  
  
At first, I was thinking of writing the first part of Chuunin Exam in this chapter but somehow, this chapter expanded itself to eleven pages, even without the exam. So I think I'll stop here and continue it in the next chapter.  
  
New hidden village... Hidden Sun. It took me quite some time to line out the basic information for this village and I think that it's going fine. And the OCs too. What do you think about them, eh? A little note here;  
  
'Daitenshi' means archangel and 'Akki' means evil. So combine her name and you have... Evil Archangel.  
  
Kinda weird but you have to know that I'm no good in making up names so I just pick random Japanese words and combine them together. You'll see what I mean when you saw the names of the three Hidden Sun genins. -sweatdrop- Please don't flame me because of that. Eh heh... and the characters descriptions are kinda vague, I know but it's really hard to describe them. I've had sketches of those four, and when I know how to upload it, I'll let you know. That is if, you wanna see it, of course.  
  
I LOVE REVIEWS! Reviews are one of the best things that had ever happened to me and you guys are just amazing in giving them...  
  
**Licht Sieger**: There, there... -pats Licht Sieger- Take these cookies and you'll be okay. Just so you know, I'm really flattered that you think so. -grins-  
  
**Stizzo**: I'll try not to use random Japanese too much but I really wanted to try naming the upcoming jutsus with Japanese names. It's kinda like a challenge for me. What d'you think? Meat, huh? ... Can cookies be made from meat? Any takers?  
  
**Wolfgirl13**: Why did you miss the updates? -pout- But as you had taken up this little story of mine again, thank you very much! And the pairing, let's just say it's still a secret...  
  
**Eiko**: I'm glad that you think so. At least you have a brother... I don't have any...  
  
**DarkBlues2**: 'Holier than thou'? -laughs maniacally- Yeah, I guess you've got that right. I've already have a plan of Naruto fighting Sasuke but it ain't coming soon, coz they're about to start the exam. And bout the pairing, it's still in consideration.  
  
**Inferno-Dragonz**: -tried to squeaks but laugh instead- Squekahahahahahahaha! -stuff her mouth with cookies- Chocowate chwip wis my favowite kwind twoo!  
  
**Ookami-kun**: Thanks. That's all that I can say. Thanks.  
  
**The-TempesT**: Yep, they will show some skills and so on. And I do like Ino in the spotlight too. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
And finally, next answer is especially for **Cevgar-san **that had been generously reviewing my story and pointing out my many mistakes;  
  
First of all, that was a long review. Thank you for taking time to write it down. I'm going to write one just as long as yours.  
  
-scratches the back of her head- My bad for misunderstanding you. Eh heh... I kept misunderstanding people nowadays, for example, there was this little nice old lady that once gave me a pot of sunflower and I was like-- there, I've started ranting off again. Anywho, I wasn't at all planning to write this as a darkfic or as I would like to call it, a deathfic. I used to write them but soon got bored torturing the characters. But I do think that you're really into Naru/Ino to know such things...  
  
Though in where I come from, simple-minded is not used to refer to someone mentally-challenged; it's more like simple-minded is synonymous to single- tracked mind. Know your goal and strive for it, by hook or by crook. Guess we had a different outlook on that one.  
  
Yep, I do agree, no doubt at all to what you think of Saku-Ino relationship. That was one of the reasons why I'm not fond of Sakura at all. To think that she had the gal to do that to someone that had helped her through those 'bad childhood' days, and Ino's just playing along. But I never could put it up as frankly as you did. I'd take my cap off for a veteran any day. I've only started writing fic since end of last year and Naruto's fic since the first chapter of Fighting All Odds. So technically, I'm still a freshman. But I'm learning loads from someone like you. Thanks for that.  
  
I've been thinking and I've decided that Naru will sound more mature, but only at times. And that will result in a more even share between those two, coz Naru is much funnier to write when he's in character, rather than OOC, like in the previous chapters. He will sound bitter and vengeful at certain times, that can't be helped because it's just relevant to the story itself. And writing Hinata is a real pain to the neck. Yeah, I'm no good at all in writing her and really sorry bout the stuttering part. I'll keep that in mind for later revision. If you feel like you don't understand what she told Naru, drop me a note and I'll write it down again (minus the stutter) for you.  
  
About the wording, if it's in Italic, that's Kyuubi speaking. I thought I've mentioned that at the start of the story. But I don't understand what you meant by 'dialogues falls apart towards the end of the story'. I guess I'll have to ask you for an explanation, if you feel like giving any, that is. Headaches, huh? I'd give you some aspirin, if only I hadn't finished them all last night. We give each other headache, how'd that sound?  
  
"The blonde genin throws stuff at the OTHER blonde genin", I think it's funny. -laughs-  
  
...  
  
Maybe it's just me...  
  
Oh kay, I think that's all. Please feel free to give your usual constructive comments as always coz I really appreciate them. Thank you, again.  
  
Until next time; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!  
  
P/s: Do anyone know Gai-sensei's last name? Coz I sure don't.  
  
Kaara. 


	9. Chuunin Exam First Part

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.

Summary so far: Training. Pissing Sasuke off. Eating ramen. Typical day for dear Naruto. The Chuunin Exam's here and several surprises will be waiting.

I'm so going to fail my upcoming exam if I continue on like this... I'm blaming ya'll for writing such nice reviews and encouraged me to update faster. -pout- Anywho, Naruto's going to wear different clothes from now onwards 'cause the way he keeps wearing that orange jumper (I myself isn't a big fan of orange), it's just makes me feel uncomfortable. So he's going to have a whole new wardrobe. Well, it's not like this is ain't an AU, anyway. Least ya can do is review!

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

[_Kyuubi's speech_]

On with the fic!

-!-

Chapter Nine: Chuunin Exam First Part.

The Ninja Academy was crowded with Chuunin hopefuls, and that was where that perverted sensei of the Team Seven left them with several of his rare, wise words; Do Not Die. The silver-haired jounin cheerfully handed the three genins their respective forms and stated that they needed to go to the room 301, third floor for registration before bidding them a quick goodbye and disappeared in his trademark cloud of smoke. Naruto arched an eyebrow at the empty space that used to be his sensei, sensing that something was wrong with the jounin. It was this instinct kinda thing that he had developed after watching and observing people from aside for so many years that made him feel so. Kakashi-sensei was unusually... tense, that day.

Not that he cared anyway.

The blonde genin grinned widely at his form, before casting a sideway glance at his two other team mates. Sakura was chattering in an excited way at Sasuke, who seemed to be in the verge of blowing up from all the babbling. Naruto shrugged slightly, remembering that Kakashi-sensei had told them earlier that they needed to pass the exam as a team, not merely as individuals. By the way these two were ignoring him in their short trip to the Academy; Naruto actually felt that it was quite ridiculous to expect the three of them to work peacefully together. And even before this whole Ino-involved thing started, they hadn't been cooperating well with each other. The desperate plan to save Kakashi from Zabuza's water prison was clearly an exception.

"Naruto!"

A foxy grin crept onto Naruto's face as he turned towards the source of that all-too-familiar voice, carefully pocketing his registration form at the same time. "Yo, Ino-chan."

The said kunoichi waved her hand from afar, Shikamaru slouching behind her in his usual lazy way and Choji with his usual packet of chips. The pony-tailed lad held up a hand towards Naruto, slightly grinning. Team Ten made their way to the place where Team Seven was currently waiting to go into the Ninja Academy, its two active members casually greeted Sasuke and Sakura, before turning to face a grinning Naruto. Choji was an exception as he was again too immersed in his own food-consuming routine to notice anything. Before Naruto could say anything, Ino dragged him away from the other five, a sure sign that meant she wanted to have a private conversation with him. Though Naruto didn't enjoy being dragged around by a girl, he wisely obliged at that time.

Once they were out of earshot, Ino finally released the scruff of his dark blue shirt, looking immensely pleased about something. "Do you wear the weights?"

"Of course not," Naruto retorted, folding his arms across his chest. "It's exam already."

"Well, I just wanted to, er... check on you," her sapphire eyes sparkled with sudden excitement and Naruto wisely took a step back. "I wonder if two teams can work along in this exam."

The blonde genin shrugged. "I don't know but we better not push on it. Besides, it seems that Sakura and Sasuke-bastard are still angry at us, especially me."

"Oh, good then," Ino exclaimed cheerily, much to Naruto's annoyance. Her grin widened as they walked their way towards the others. "The least we can do is to go to the registration room together, eh? The more the merrier."

"Suits yourself."

-!-

These two genins were not... ordinary genins.

Either that, or they were not genins at all.

Naruto leaned against the wall in a bored manner, as he continued to eye the two supposedly older genins insulting the other Chuunin hopefuls while standing firmly in front of a door that was labelled '301'. The crowd was getting restless and irritated, furious whispers and remarks could be heard resounding along the hallway. Smirking, the blonde genin could barely suppress a chuckle at the irony of the situation; they were not even in the third floor yet. He knew that they had walked straight into a nicely-placed genjutsu, maybe the two balking 'genins' were really chuunins, but he decided that he would stay out and watch how the others deal with it. Ino was besides him, staring impatiently at Naruto.

"Well, are you going to tell them that it's a genjutsu?" she too, had apparently known the drill from the very start and clearly was annoyed about it. "We're wasting valuable time."

Naruto shrugged, watching a girl with two buns on her head being flung away when she tried to walk into the room. "Just wait for a while, will you? Mr. Stuck-Up is making his move," the genin grinned and added, teasing, "You might want to cheer him on."

Ino huffed loudly, but nevertheless, she turned her attention at that certain raven-haired avenger, who was smirking and had moved to the front of the crowd, facing the two disguised chuunins. "Can you get out of my way? I'm going to the third floor."

The other genins were taken aback at that statement, as whispers buzzed around him and Naruto fervently thanked his luck for not being in the same group as that whole bunch of fools. At least Sasuke and Sakura were dependable at some points. Sakura, as if on perfect cue, efficiently chimed in, "It's a genjutsu, if you haven't notice. This is the second floor."

Suddenly, a cold shiver rushed down Naruto's spine as an odd sensation washed over him. The blonde staggered slightly, the images around him blurred for seconds, before turning back to normal. He shook his heads, placing one hand over his chest as he felt his heart pounding madly against his ribcage. Naruto was not aware of what was happening between his two team mates or everyone else and it took him all his strength to stay standing, something that had proven to be difficult for an unknown reason. It seemed that Ino had noticed that something had gone wrong as he could see that she had a concerned expression on her face, hovering uncertainly next to him. He inhaled deeply, gritted his teeth and tried to shake away the numbness.

Then, he saw them, all four of them.

The Hidden Sun, though at that time, Naruto still didn't know about that.

Daitenshi Akki was regarding Naruto with an unreadable expression on her fair face, her lips curved into a meaningful smile as their eyes connected. The blonde genin felt unfounded hatred, and fear, building inside him, knowing for certain that it was Kyuubi's, and not his. It confused him, of who was the beautiful woman staring intently at him and his own, or rather, Kyuubi's reaction to her azure eyes. Ino had thoughtfully slipped an arm around one of his shaking arms, supporting him from collapsing onto the floor. Naruto wanted to push her away, anger flashing in his eyes when the feeling that the kunoichi had thought him to be weak provoked his mind. But as he struggled to take control over his body, he was quietly grateful for her help.

"Are you okay?" Ino whispered urgently, her eyes were locked on Naruto's sweating face. He was quite lucky that both of them were standing in an isolated corner, far from the crowd that was starting to move slowly towards the landing to the next floor. She gently helped him to steady himself, eyebrows knitted into a frown. "What's wrong?"

Naruto choked, but felt somewhat relieved when his heartbeat started slowing down, gradually beating to a steady rhyme. He tilted his head to where he had seen the raven-haired woman, but she was not there anymore. Naruto sighed and turned to face Ino. "I'm okay. We better hurry to the next floor or we'll be late."

The blonde kunoichi nodded her agreement; her eyes kept darting from Naruto to the empty space that once held Daitenshi Akki. She unwounded her arm from Naruto's and quietly walked besides him towards the stair, though he knew that her silence meant that she was trying to fight down her curiosity. And maybe even doubt. Ino had been training with him long enough to know that the genin did not appreciate those who tried to pry into his personal life, least the ones that like to poke their unwanted noses in somebody else's business. Naruto decided on thanking Ino mentally for that, because he didn't feel like explaining something that he didn't even understand to the kunoichi. Naruto kept a firm gaze ahead, determined to find out about what had happened.

He had a vague feeling that Kyuubi was somehow involved in this.

-!-

The right examination room was already full of other participants, some chattering away with their team mates, while some settled on looking heavily intimidating for the sake of scaring other genins away from them. This particular tactic didn't seem to work for Sasuke, who despite the 'mess-with-me-and-you're-going-to-get-your-butt-kicked' attitude, still have a fair amount of attention thrown towards him, with Sakura being the most victorious of all for she was seating next to the Uchiha, giggling madly without any apparent reason. Naruto entered the room with Ino, his muscles tense from the previous experience and his senses were still irritatingly numb. Shikamaru waved at the kunoichi from a seat to their left, beckoning her to go there.

Ino fidgeted and looked at Naruto. "I have to go there but are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he snapped, annoyed at the concern portrayed in her voice. "Go on."

If Ino was unconvinced, she didn't say anything about it as she sauntered hesitantly to her two team mates. She plopped onto an empty seat next to Shikamaru and began saying something to the pony-tailed genin, before whapping Choji at the back of the poor boy's head for still eating in the examination room. Naruto grinned at the scene (Choji was yelling at Ino, who of course, yelled back in an equally high volume) and started looking for his own team. Sakura glared at him, though eventually decided that he was not worth of her precious time and continued fawning over a colder-than-usual Sasuke. The blonde genin groaned inwardly but nevertheless, he took a seat besides Sakura and settled on staring lazily at the entrance of the room.

Naruto's half-closed eyes snapped open when he saw the last three people who entered through the door, as he had seen them before. With the mysterious raven-haired woman. Their presence brought little effect to the already-crowded room but Naruto knew that they were far from the average genins, moving in fluidity equivalent to Kakashi's as they crossed the room and took the seats far back and almost hidden in the shadow. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the unknown newcomers (he couldn't see their forehead protectors) and with the help of the sunlight that was pouring inside from the nearest open window, he could make out what they were like. Brief as it was, the blonde genin knew that they would become strong opponents, obstacles that he would have to defeat.

The oldest one was a redheaded female, wearing a worn-out leather jacket over a tight, flaming red shirt and a pair of loose black pants with several zipped compartments. She also wore fingerless black gloves, quite similar to the ones that Kakashi have but without the metal plates while her forehead protector was completely hidden by long bangs of red hair that framed her tanned face nicely. The redhead sat on a chair, tilted it back and propped her legs casually onto the table. She folded her arms across her chest and looked up at her other two companions, motioning them to take a seat each.

A green-haired girl followed next, donned in a dark olive shirt and baggy jeans with her forehead protector gleaming proudly on her forehead. Both of her arms were completely covered in bandages, until the very tips of her fingers. She seemed to be the one that was anything near cheerful in the trio, laughing softly when the redhead said something to her. There was a small bag strapped to her left thigh, probably for the purpose of securing whatever weapon she would be using. Naruto also noticed a kodachi lying on the table in front of her, and that instantly struck him as a warning.

Last of the trio was a silver-haired female (or so Naruto thought), her silver orbs warily scanned the entire room with the air of an experienced shinobi scouting for potential danger. Her eyes soon fell on Naruto, and something about the way this other genin stared at him made Naruto tensed immediately. She was donned in an all black outfit; a sleeveless black shirt with an emblem of a twisting and fiercely snarling silver dragon at the back of the shirt, and a pair of baggy black pants. Bandages covered her right arm, from her shoulder to the elbow with her forehead protector strapped on her upper arm.

The connection between Naruto's blue orbs and her silver ones broke when Sakura suddenly spoke out, looking at him, "Ne, Naruto."

"Yeah?" the blonde genin slowly latched his eyes at her, waiting to hear what she had to say next. He dismissed the mounting curiosity that had started to build inside him, knowing that those unknown genins would eventually show their true potentials and until that time comes, he didn't want to provoke any unwanted fight with anyone.

To quote Shikamaru; 'It's just so tiresome...'

The pink-haired kunoichi pointed to a spectacled, grey-haired older genin that was currently reading something about someone named Rock Lee to Sasuke and generously explained. "That's Kabuto-san. He has this Nin Info cards and it can tell you information about the any genin participating in the Chuunin exam."

"How so?" asked Naruto, getting interested in the prospect of a deck full of handy information.

Through Kyuubi's sense of judging one's chakra level, he could barely believe it when Sakura told him that this was Kabuto's seventh try in being a chuunin as the blonde realised that the grey-haired man had an advanced level of chakra and someone like him should've passed the examination without much difficulty. Though he felt slightly suspicious about Kabuto's hidden intention, Naruto leaned forward and inspected the cards with visible interest. Kabuto was reading out aloud the missions that Rock Lee and his team had completed and it mystified the blonde when Sakura flinched every time the name 'Rock Lee' was mentioned. As Kabuto finished on Rock Lee, Naruto tapped at his shoulder and grinned.

"Do you have any information about Gaara of the Sand?"

Naruto pointedly ignored the questioning looks directed at him from his two team mates.

It took the other genin only seconds before triumphantly brandishing a card with the picture of the redheaded Sand boy that Naruto and Ino met the day before. He glanced at the card and slowly whistled in appreciation. "8 rank C missions and 1 rank B mission. This kid is good, for a genin. Well, I don't have much information on him, except that he returned from every mission without a scratch. Pretty amazing, if you ask me."

A small voice from behind him made Naruto swivelled, only to blink straight at a pale-eyed girl, Hinata. "Makes... makes you lose... confidence once you know who you have to... to fight in the future."

Naruto frowned but caught himself just in time to force a grin at Hinata. "Hinata-chan, there's no use giving up before you even start on something. Your sensei has complete confidence in you, and so do I."

The Hyuuga girl blushed deep crimson and blinked shyly at the grinning blonde genin. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, closed it, opened it again but closed it again and looked down at her shuffling feet. Naruto sweatdropped at the daunting display of 'Goldfish Imitation no Jutsu' from the ex-heiress and took a tentative step back. Sakura and the other genins, who were crowding around them, watched in curious fascination before a spike-headed genin with a dog on top of his head brashly interrupted the awkward silence, almost pushing aside Hinata while a quiet boy in sunglasses followed him.

"Seems like all 9 new genins are here this year," the dog boy arrogantly (and a bit obviously) pointed out, smirking. "Wonder which one of us will make it out."

Sasuke snorted. "I know you won't."

Before the two boys could lunge at each other and ripped their eyeballs off, a cloud of smoke erupted at the very front of the room. Sakura squealed and almost toppled over her chair if it wasn't for Sasuke, who placed a saving hand behind the kunoichi's back. To which he eventually regretted as Sakura gleefully rubbed her own hand against Sasuke's. Kiba and his team blinked while Kabuto looked candidly taken aback. When the smoke finally cleared out, Naruto could see lines of chuunins standing behind a large, seemingly harsh shinobi that glared in contempt annoyance at the surprised genins. Naruto bristled in excitement, knowing that the exam was finally going to start.

The man introduced himself as Morino Ibiki, the first examiner for the Chuunin Exam. The chuunins behind him started taking out chairs and sat comfortably with a file of some sort in each of their hands. They smirked at the wondering genins but did nothing else as the examiner started explaining out the rules of the first exam. Much, much to Naruto's dismay, it was a written paper. The poor blonde felt like banging his head against the wall, but deciding that the move was not a wise (and sane) one, Naruto grudgingly narrowed his eyes at the talking shinobi. His mind was already shutting down at the very mention of a written paper but he struggled to listen to Ibiki, trying to read between the lines for hidden information. Naruto grinned discretely when he finally understood.

They were supposed to cheat in order to pass the exam.

And the catch was that they must not get caught.

_So that's why the chuunins are here,_ the fox boy thought smugly. _Making it even harder to cheat._

_[Took you long enough to figure that out, child.]_

_What the heck--!_

Hinata, who had the seat next to Naruto (without him realizing it), shrunk back when the blonde suddenly looked around in a wild fashion, blue eyes widened with shock. Grinning apologetically at the frightened Hyuuga, Naruto bent over his paper, furiously chewing on his bottom lips, as shrill laughter rang inside his head.

_Kyuubi! Why are you in my mind?!_

_[We are one, do you not remember?]_

_Yeah, well before, you never did seem interested in MY mind!_

The nine-tailed youkai chuckled. _[Before, there don't seem to be anything useful in here.]_

_Sardonic fox, aren't we? Can you please, graciously tell me what do you want, Kyuubi-sama?_

_[To help you, child. In case you've forgotten, you failed every one of your previous written tests. And if you fail this one, the road to our next phase will be blocked for the next two years.]_

Naruto mentally winced at the blatant answer, and the laughter that followed afterwards. It was true, but that didn't mean that it's not hurtful. Iruka-sensei always told him that he sucks in answering questions, only focusing more on his physical training but that was just how he worked. To Naruto, written test was just a way for teachers to further torment their students. The blonde pouted.

_Fine. Be that way, _he thought back, the pout replaced by a dark frown. _How're you going to help me, fox?_

"Anou... Naruto-kun?"

Naruto whipped his head at the source of that voice, which turned out to be none other than Hinata. The pale-eyed girl was smiling awkwardly at the blonde; her index fingers twiddling once again with each other. "Yes?"

"The exam had started for about ten minutes now," the girl replied, whispering over her paper. She hesitated, not knowing how to express her feeling after continually watching Naruto's expression changes; from shocked to displease and then from playfully pouting to frowning. "Naruto-kun, good luck."

"Hai, the same goes to you, Hinata-chan," the blonde grinned and turned his attention back to his exam paper, silently cursing Kyuubi for the brief distraction.

As Naruto looked around the examination room, he was completely astounded by the many cheating jutsus that were being used by other participants. Gaara, the boy from the Sand, was doing this weird thing with his chakra and swirls of sand, concentrating them into a sphere of some sort. Shaking his head in confusion, Naruto caught sight of Sasuke and smirked. The young Uchiha was using his Sharingan, copying answers automatically from another genin down the row. The Byakugan gave Hinata and Neji such an advantage that the blonde soon found himself unconsciously glaring in envy at the veins pulsating around Hinata's milky-white eyes. Sakura probably would have no problem at all answering the questions, with her reputation as the brain of Team Seven and that left him being the only one without answers.

The fox boy groaned inwardly.

Looking past Shino, who was silently communicating with a bug, Naruto again found himself glaring at the mysterious genins from the unknown hidden village. To his utmost surprise, the trio was doing nothing, coolly staring at Morino Ibiki and the seated chuunins, which earned them more than a few pointed glares. The examiner himself seemed to have been taken by surprise at their action, his eyebrows knitted into a frown, succeeded in making him look more menacing than ever. The redhead, as if sensing that they were being glared at, lazily cocked her head towards Naruto, winked and waved playfully at him. The blonde narrowed his eyes and turned to glare at his exam paper, innocently lying there with large gaps that were supposed to be filled with answers.

_Oi, Kyuubi, I thought you're going to help._

_[I am. Now close your eyes and concentrate, child.]_

-!-

Writing down the last line of her ninth answer, Sakura wiped the beads of perspiration that were rolling down her cheek in relief. The questions were hard, no doubt about that as they needed exact accuracy and imagination in order to even understand them. The only one left was the tenth question and she still had plenty of time to think over that one. Looking over her shoulder, Sakura smiled widely when she saw Sasuke and the Sharingan eyes but immediately sweatdropped when her eyes fell on Naruto. The blonde genin was glaring at his paper as though he wanted nothing more than to burn the cursed paper. Knowing Naruto, Sakura knew that he couldn't answer even one of those questions, unless he turned into a genius in ten minutes or somehow had learnt an advanced cheating jutsu.

_I'm just afraid that he'll get all of us failed if he didn't answer the questions,_ Sakura thought darkly, fidgeting with her pen. _Should I help him?_

Before she could think of an answer, Sakura suddenly felt dizzy. _It was as if someone had just cast a... a sleeping jutsu over me..._

Two rows behind, Shikamaru exchanged knowing grin with Choji.

-!-

Morino Ibiki shifted slightly from his current position as he continued to observe the exam participants in mild interest. Years of dealing (actually, it was torturing) with people's minds gave him an edge in this kind of profession. He was there only for the very purpose of scaring the shit out of these fresh, and not-so-fresh, genins without doing anything physical, which was exactly his field of expertise. The rest would be taken care of the chuunins under his instruction. Ibiki smiled as he watched Byakugan and Sharingan battling for the right answer, while others used typical cheating ways; mirrors or relying on their own team mates. He noticed a long-haired blonde kunoichi glaring at a pink-haired girl, before performing a series of handseals and fell asleep almost at once. Quirking an eyebrow, Ibiki turned towards the pink-haired girl.

She was memorising her own answers.

_Ah, that blonde's a Yamanaka, _the shinobi nodded his head in approval. _That explains a lot._

His eyes travelled to Gaara, noting that the Sand genin was doing something with his chakra and a small amount of sand though he had no idea what the kid had done. Shrugging off his curiosity, Ibiki moved on to the genins in the last row and something peculiar caught his immediate attention. The three genins from the Hidden Sun were casually staring at him and his chuunins without even lifting up their provided pens. The Hokage had told him about their sudden interest in the Chuunin Exam and he had instantly told Sandaime that they shouldn't just let these unknown genins take the exam. He could have succeeded in convincing the Hokage, if it wasn't for a grand and tearful exclamation from Gai. It seemed that the ultimately weird jounin had taken an odd fancy on the Hidden Sun nins, especially their teacher.

Morino Ibiki suddenly sympathise whoever the female nin was.

But right now, he had work to do. Shooting a last glare at the Hidden Sun genins, Ibiki caught sight of the blonde troublemaker he had heard so much about besides a female Hyuuga. That day proved to be a day of confusion for poor Ibiki as he scrutinized his eyes, trying to decipher what the blonde was doing. Naruto had his eyes closed, with an annoyed expression painted on his face as the blonde's lips continually mumbling over something. The examiner continued to watch the boy for a few more minutes, his mind mulled over the every available explanation that could somehow clarify the boy's act. Finding none that suited the situation, Ibiki was about to move to other participants, when Naruto opened his eyes in a painfully slow motion. The experienced shinobi immediately froze at the sight that greeted him.

Naruto's eyes were blazing crimson, with interval flashes of gold.

Very much fox-like.

-!-

_[How do you like the world according to my eyes, child?]_

Naruto grinned, as the other genins in that room reduced to nothing but colourful blobs of chakra. Kyuubi had told him (after he had closed his eyes and finished on cursing the fox demon) that he could enhance his vision by 'using' the fox's eyes instead. Mortal pupils, as Kyuubi explained to him, had limited ability, unless of course, you are a Hyuuga or an Uchiha. Even with their Bloodline Limit, they could see restrictedly, depending on how much they had developed their eyes. Kyuubi, apart from being the most powerful and feared youkai, was also granted with several specialties. One of them being his eyes. Laden with huge amount of chakra, his demon eyes could see through almost everything and almost every mind, except those who had focused on blocking out their own mind from potential mind-reader. Like Yondaime had once did.

_It's pretty cool, I suppose,_ the blonde genin blinked in pain when his head started throbbing. The blobs of chakra swarmed around him, making it hard to see anything else._ Hey, Kyuubi, what's happening? I can't see clearly._

_[Have I told you before that there are side effects in order to use my eyes?]_

_No, _frowning, Naruto concentrated on easing down the throbbing that had became more persistent, and painful. _Couldn't you tell me earlier?!_

A gale of laughter resounded, merrily mocking him. _[Being young and inexperienced, there is no way you can maintain the amount of chakra needed to use the Eyes for more than ten minutes, child. Therefore, may I suggest that you use the remaining time to seek for the answers needed? I will tell you more when we had the opportunity to do so.]_

Grumbling about a certain sardonic fox demon, Naruto immediately picked up his pen, searching for someone to copy the answers from. Naturally, he decided on Sakura, though with Kyuubi's eyes, he could see that something was wrong with her chakra, it was as if another stronger one had invaded her body and was currently controlling her every move. Comprehension dawned into him as he took some time and glanced sideway towards Ino, who was still sleeping. Naruto knew that he couldn't afford to waste any time as the pain doubled, making it hard to even jolt down the answers he saw through Sakura's body. Upon reaching the seventh question, Naruto felt a sharp pain flashed through him, particularly towards his eyes. The world blurred for a split second, before he found himself staring at Sakura's back. The genin cursed in frustration.

_[Time's up, child. Maybe you will be able to control the Eyes better in the future.]_

Though he was still disappointed, Naruto smiled at the voice of Kyuubi. _Yeah, maybe later._

Sighing, the blonde looked down at his paper. There was still the tenth question anyway.

If he had been more observant, Naruto would've realized that Ibiki was staring at him.

And so were the three Hidden Sun genins.

TBC

A/N:

You have to forgive me for this extremely late update. I had several important things to complete first and they had taken so much of my time. So how do you like this chapter? It had given me such a headache (yeah, so I infected Naruto with it) but now that it's finished, I can breathe easy again.

A load of thanks to those who told me Gai's last name. It was Maito, huh? Pretty cool. Now that I know his full name, I can torture, er... write beautiful scenes involving my favourite taijutsu master. -eyes gleam evilly- Ehehehehehe...

Okay, this is very, very, very, VERY important thing I wanna ask for you guys help. I know that many of you expects this to be a Naru/Ino fic but I just want to make it clear, as I have future plan for Ino in consideration. But, of, course, the readers come first so what d'you think? A Naru/Ino fic or just friendship? Please answer in your reviews! Pretty please!

Thanks for your generous reviews!! Every time I finished a chapter, I felt obliged to answer them all and if you have to know, I had them printed and bring them everywhere I go. -grins- So, that tells how much I love them.

**ErikKoekKoek**: You really don't wanna fly to down here, it's really hot, if you know what I mean. Though I do think that Puppy Eyes no Jutsu is quite common nowadays, so I guess you can use it. Make sure you tell me about that particular story, 'kay?

**Cevgar-san**: What?! You've burnt the review bug?! But review bugs are my best friends; they helped me by infecting people to review! -shakes head sadly- Ah... such ending for them... And I was enjoying your reviews so much...

**Inferno-Dragonz**: -throws another frying pan at Inferno-Dragonz- That's for being a pervert. They're not alone in the room, there're a whole bunch of people in there, remember? Sandaime, Asuma and Kurenai. Shame on you, you pervert!

**Skuld's Sentaro**: Ooh... I remember Skuld! She's from that anime Ah! My Goddess, isn't she? She's kinda cute... Okay, I'm ranting again. Thanks for your review but if you've read my note, you'll have to drop me a line for that, ne?

**Exarikun**: Yep, he's Maito Gai. And thank you for your generous compliments. -blush-

**Naruto-sama-kun**: It's up to you, whether it's a Naru/Ino or not. Do vote.

**TheGreatAnimeFan**: How did you come up with very nice (and funny) descriptive words for Sasuke?! -laughs madly- Emotionally-crippled is just very amusing!

**Karibanu**: Hey, that's a great idea! Making Ino follow Naruto, instead of staying loyal to Konoha. I'll think about that, though it's really good! Thanks!

**Ookami-kun**: Oh hey! Thanks for reviewing! And don't worry, I have several jutsus in my sleeves (er... -looks at her sleeveless shirt- Never mind) that's going to serve Naru's and Ino's need. Keep on reviewing!

And to;

**hime-sarah, Jinnai, Gopu, Omega037** and **TopQuark**, ARIGATO FOR REVIEWING!

I love ya all!

Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review!

Kaara.


	10. Chuunin Exam Second Part I

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.

Summary so far: Training. Pissing Sasuke off. Eating ramen. Typical day for dear Naruto. The Chuunin Exam's here and several surprises will be waiting.

Oh. My. God! 25 reviews?! -faints-

... (ten minutes later)

25 reviews?! That's the most I've ever got for a chapter! Thanks, you guys! And I've got my first flame. Pretty cool, huh? Well, I don't know how I should react to that... I guess I should be mad. -tries to make an angry face but laughs instead- Human are so funny. Oh well, I'm quite (actually, it's very, very) happy and I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as you had for the last one. Gomenasai for the late update, though.

Help needed: What the heck is a 'Mary Sue' character?!

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

[_Kyuubi's speech_]

1010101: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

Chapter Ten: Chuunin Exam Second Part I

Ibiki looked away at the chuunins behind him, and he noticed that most of them had their mouths hung open, gaping at the oblivious Naruto. He snapped his fingers and that brought them out of their trance, shaking their heads and looked at the older shinobi in confusion. With a hint of fear. He signalled for them to continue doing their assigned task, before glancing at the blonde genin again, as if to make sure that what he saw was not an illusion, a trick of the eyes. Naruto was smiling encouragingly at Hinata, who blushed back. But if there was someone Morino Ibiki trusted throughout his years of being a shinobi, it was his own judgment. And there was definitely something wrong with the blonde. He gritted his teeth, as he was there when Kyuubi rampaged through Konoha in its unfounded bloodlust.

He would never forget those vengeful, crimson eyes of the fox demon that tore his comrades' lives apart, shattering many dreams with just a swipe of its great claws. When Yondaime had sealed the youkai inside a boy, he had heaved a sigh of relief. He had seen the boy, though he would never understand why the Fourth Hokage had chosen that blonde midget to be the vessel of the Great Kyuubi. Never the one who blames another for his own fate, Ibiki had acted civil, if not friendly, towards Naruto if they ever met in the streets, or when he went to the Academy for a routine check up. When people sneered at Naruto, he would just remained quiet as that was his nature. He knew that the boy needed someone who acknowledged his existence but Ibiki didn't want to be that someone.

He couldn't.

Not until he could forget those deadly eyes of Kyuubi.

And now, after twelve years of trying to live down the memory, that very eyes had appeared in front of him, set in a boy's face. The vessel of the demon. His fingers curled into fists; he would have to report that unusual activity to Sandaime. Maybe the old Hokage could find an explanation to it; he has to find an explanation to it! The demon couldn't have slipped from the seal that Yondaime had put on it! From what he had heard, that seal was the strongest one that was ever created. Ibiki slowly clenched and unclenched his fingers with his eyes still locked at the oblivious Naruto. A tap to his shoulder reminded him of his duty as the first examiner and he nodded appreciatively at the spiky-headed chuunin behind him.

Morino Ibiki cleared his throat, forcing down the memories of the painful past away as not to cloud his mind. He waited until a Sand boy with the puppet returned to his appointed seat before announcing the rules of the tenth question. Despite the earlier shock, Ibiki found himself smirking slightly at the stunned look on the participants' faces. It was priceless, though his eyes involuntarily went back to Naruto, who was frowning so hard that it caused Hinata to (again) shrink back in her seat. There were more than a few who felt that the rules to be unfair and more than a few looked as though they wanted nothing but to kill Ibiki. Other genins were complaining loudly, especially that girl from the Sand and a few Leaf nins.

"If you brats think that you can't handle this question, I suggest that you go back home and cry to your momma," Ibiki sternly bellowed. "I ain't wasting my time with some cowards bitching about in my exam!"

That effectively silenced them. Within minutes, Naruto snorted and shook his head at the number of hands that were raised by the gutless genins; some looked as though they were at the verge of tears. He knew that there must be something else masked behind those illogical rules; that 'Scar-face' (Naruto had the privilege to nickname Ibiki) had no right to disqualify them that easily. He leaned back on his chair, lazily smirking at the worried look on the faces around him. Hinata was looking quite scared but her eyes shone in determination when Naruto smiled at her. She smiled (and blushed) back and turned to the direction of her two team mates. They too nodded encouragingly at the pale-eyed girl, who in turn nodded back.

Naruto had no worry for Sasuke and Sakura; they were ambitious enough not to quit.

And Ino was far too hard-headed to surrender to this type of threat.

Naruto's predicament proved to be right, if not accurate. Once the last genin walked out and the doors were closed, Ibiki suddenly grinned widely at them and announced that they have succeeded through the first stage of the Chuunin Exam. For the next few seconds, the examination room was enveloped by a deathly silence, where each and every pair of eyes glared murderously at one victim; the still-grinning Morino Ibiki. After recovering themselves, the genins bombarded Ibiki with various demands and not to forget, curses. His harsh words were by then replaced by a simple explanation; there was no tenth question at all. This part of exam was to test their ability to retrieve information successfully and how well they can withstand pressure.

And those who were there had proven themselves to be worthy.

_I'm worthy alright, _Naruto thought smugly, flexing his sore muscles. _If that means I won't get my head screwed open like yours._

Ibiki set his eyes grimly at the oblivious blonde genin.

He couldn't wait to get this over with and report to Sandaime.

There had to be a logical explanation for that boy's peculiar behaviour!

1010101

Naruto cursed viciously under his breath when something, or someone, crashed through one of the windows of the room, accompanied by a black cloth of some sort that was pinned to the ceiling and floor at its four points by kunai. That day had been one hell of a day, even excluding that dumb tenth question. The blonde genin instinctively shielded his face from shards of broken glass as he was completely taken by surprise, though Kyuubi had warned him before about a speeding blur of chakra from outside. He didn't understand what the youkai had tried to tell him at that time but Naruto pretty much guessed that this mysterious crashing-through-window object was that particular blur. Well, the object turned out to be the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko.

An overly energetic Mitarashi Anko, that is.

_Why couldn't the examiners be normal?!_ Naruto screamed mentally, deciding against voicing that out loud as not to further frightened the already frightened Hinata, who looked as though she would rather be under the chair than on it. _This examination is one hell of a weirdo fiasco! _

Even Ibiki was having a hard time repressing his amusement.

Before long, Naruto found himself standing behind a group of exam participants, who had been assembled in front of the Forest of Death. Ino and Team Eight was chatting nearby, apparently pleased by their performance. The blonde kunoichi looked away from her conversation with Shikamaru and grinned widely at Naruto, her eyes curving into two happy crescents. The genin smiled back, before narrowing his eyes when he felt two pairs of eyes glaring dagger to the back of his neck. Even without turning around, he knew that the eyes belonged to those two team mates of his. Naruto felt somewhat disgruntled, knowing that he still had to stick to them for the sake of passing this exam.

_[You don't have to like them to use them, child] _Kyuubi's voice resounded inside his head again, though he sounded fainter than before. _[Look at the bright side.]_

Naruto snorted. _When you put it that way, it sounded almost right._

_[Almost?]_

_Yeah, a homicidal youkai just asked me to 'look at the bright side',_ the genin chuckled, shaking his head. _That's very ironic, you know? _

_[Whatever you say. Constant vigilance and you can pass through this stage.]_

_Your wish is my command, Kyuubi-sama,_ Naruto retorted sarcastically.

_[I have tire myself conversing with you, child, and now, I must go back to my lair. It might be another day until I can speak to you again. Remember what I have told you.]_

With that, the inhuman voice disappeared at once from Naruto's mind, and the blonde genin frowned darkly. He had to pass this stage without Kyuubi's help after all. Not that he had no confidence in his own strength but Naruto felt that it would be nicer to have someone to talk to when the teams were separated, and Ino was not there. He folded his arms against his chest, eyes narrowing at the chattering mass of genins. The Sand nins could be excluded though, as they were talking among themselves silently. Naruto noticed that Gaara once stole a glance at him, but he ignored the curious look, muttering curses under his breath. And of course, there were the mysterious genins that done nothing at the first stage, standing not far from him.

They were, again, staring at Naruto.

_Have I suddenly grown another head or something?_ The genin thought furiously, glaring at the trio. The redhead, who had winked and waved at him earlier, glared playfully back, much to the blonde's annoyance. _Once the real fight begins, I'm going to fuckin' jutsu their stupid butts._

1010101

_He had grown up, Akki-sama,_ the redhead smiled when Naruto viciously cursed under his breath and promptly looked away. She turned to the green-haired girl. "What do you think of him, Raiu?"

"He's strong," she replied, adjusting her kodachi that was placed on her left hip. "I wonder who'll win if I fight him..."

"We're here not to provoke a fight with anybody, especially Naruto-sama," their silver-haired companion silently interjected.

"You're such a killjoy, Ryuu-chan," the green-haired girl, Raiu teased, her emerald orbs flashing in childlike mischief. "Though I do notice that you were staring at that pretty blonde girl--"

The redhead arched an eyebrow. "What blonde girl?"

"The one that's close to Naruto-sama," she cheerfully supplied, winking at the said 'Ryuu-chan', who had grown colder by a degree. "Honestly, Shakaku, didn't you notice her? Blonde hair, blue eyes..."

"I was not staring at her," the gravely-taunted 'Ryuu-chan' firmly denied.

Raiu snorted. "Yeah, whatever you want to believe. But I do hope that no one will mistake you for a girl, again."

The silver-haired genin narrowed his eyes coldly towards the laughing Raiu.

1010101

Ino eventually broke away from her team mates and sauntered towards Naruto, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. She announced her presence by smacking the back of Naruto head. "Hey."

"What 'hey'?!" the genin growled, rubbing his head. "That hurts, dammit."

The kunoichi chuckled. "If you can't even stand that, how're you going to defeat me?"

"I can beat you up anytime," Naruto retorted, grinning. "With my eyes closed."

"So, what did you do in Ibiki's exam?"

Naruto was quite conscious of the curiosity in Ino's voice as she waited for an answer, sapphire eyes regarding him patiently. He didn't want Ino to know about the new technique he had learnt, and he didn't want her to know about Kyuubi, therefore, Naruto only shook his head and smiled. "That's a secret."

She pouted in retaliation. "Fine. Don't tell me."

"Ino, you know that a secret is a secret," Naruto slowly reasoned. "Maybe, when the time comes, I'll tell you, ne?"

"That's the best I can possibly get from you anyway," the pout was replaced by a wide grin, and obvious anticipation danced in her blue orbs. "What do you think we're gonna do next?"

"We're about to know."

Mitarashi Anko was smiling brightly and she looked so joyous that Naruto had the slightest feeling that something bad (or extremely torturous) had been arranged for them. He watched Ino thoughtfully as she went back to her team, completely missing the look he was receiving from the Hidden Sun genins. He walked closer to Sasuke and Sakura, though they didn't look half as angry as they were before at him. The blonde instinctively heaved a sigh of relief; maybe they're not so bad after all. The remaining twenty two teams that had advanced through the first stage of the Chuunin Exam obligingly crowded around the kunoichi, waiting impatiently for their next instruction. Anko cheerfully brandished a stack of papers, waving them about above her heads.

"You must all sign these documents," the kunoichi happily announced. "We don't wanna take any responsibility if any of you brats died in this exam. So, this is a last chance for anyone that's not up to the challenge to back out and save your sorry ass. Anybody? No one, huh? Good, when you're called, go to that booth over there and you'll receive one scroll for each group. Listen up, this is what your second test going to be."

Naruto gathered as much information from the short briefing as he could, though there was certainly not much to gather. There were two types of scroll; Heaven and Earth. Teams will be given one random type of scroll each and to complete the test, they have to obtain another type of scroll from (obviously) another group. The trick was that they had to make sure that the other group have different scroll than theirs or the fight would be a complete waste of time. The rules were simple and seemed irritatingly vague; if they lose a scroll, they failed. If they lose a team mate, they failed. If they arrive to the tower after the five days limit, they failed. And lastly, if they open the scroll before arriving at the tower, they would also be disqualified.

_Now this is what I call a challenge, _Naruto carefully hid his glee, as Sasuke and Sakura nodded at each other. _At last, a real fight..._

"Oi, dobe, are you ready?" the Uchiha survivor raised an eyebrow at Naruto, the annoyingly-superior smirk adorning his pale face.

For once, Naruto didn't feel like lodging a fist into that smirking face. He was far too excited to let his mood to be ruined by some stupid rivalry. Instead, he grinned. "Yeah, time to kick some serious butts!"

Sakura sighed in mock weariness. "That's so like Naruto..."

"You make it sound as though it's a bad thing," the blonde retorted.

1010101

They went to the booth, where two chuunins were waiting. They signed the documents without the slightest hint of doubt and got their scroll; a Heaven scroll. Walking quietly out, they found a spot near their assigned gate; Gate 12. Sasuke held out the scroll, his dark eyes moved from one face to another. They would have to survive the five days in the Forest of Death, guarding their scroll from any attempts by other teams and snatching one Earth scroll in order to pass through this exam. It would be quite difficult, even Naruto had to grudgingly admit that, with twenty two teams hunting down one another. They have to make a wise decision before entering the forest; who was going to protect the scroll in future fights?

"I suggest that Sasuke-kun keep it," Sakura enthusiastically chirped. "He's the strongest among us three anyway!"

_Strongest, my ass. _Naruto wanted to snort out but caught himself just in time. He shrugged, as a sign that he didn't care. _If he wants to act all high-and-mighty, let him be. I ain't gonna complain._

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the nonchalant look displayed on Naruto's face, before glancing down at the scroll in his hand. Unexpectedly, he thrust it forward, towards the blonde genin. "You keep it."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Eh? But... but why?"

"He looks weak," that reply from the raven-haired genin made Naruto bristled with anger but he defiantly ignored the remark, chanting self-soothing word inside his head. Sasuke smirked. "Others won't expect him to have the scroll."

Naruto snatched the scroll away and carefully tucked it away into his back pocket, grumbling out incoherent words that made both Sasuke and Sakura stared at him. The blonde arched an eyebrow and looked away. _Five days with Your Lordliness Sasuke-bastard... Maybe I'm the one who's gonna kill him inside there. No, can't do that. I'll fail the exam!_

"Come on," Sakura suddenly spoke out, pointing at a grinning Anko. "I think she's about to let us in."

And thus, the second stage of the Chuunin Exam began!

1010101

They had been walking for more than twenty minutes then.

And no other soul was in sight.

Naruto was growing restless. He wanted to just freakin' find a group, beat them up senseless, got the right scroll and waltzed towards the tower. That would certainly save a lot of time and nerve. The genin ran a hand impatiently through his blonde spikes, sky-blue eyes warily scanning the surrounding. He had enough of fighting with a giant snake to last a whole lifetime and he didn't intend to fight another in this type of forest. The Forest of Death seemed to have lived up to its name, which was not a good thing. There was something definitely creepy about the way those thick canopies loomed above them, blocking out the sunlight and providing potential predators with ideal hideouts. Sakura had walked closer to Sasuke, who was the head of their unlikely procession and Naruto sincerely thought that it was not solely because of her hormones.

It was at that time that he realized a faint trace of chakra, stalking them.

Catching up with the two, Naruto casually leaned forward and whispered, "There's someone following us."

"There is?" Sakura started to look around but was stopped in time by a double glare from both boys. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

Sasuke frowned but they continued walking, as though they hadn't noticed anything. The Uchiha glanced at Naruto. "How did you know that before I do?"

Never the one to miss an opportunity to annoy the raven-haired genin, Naruto did his best imitation of a 'Sasuke Smirk' and said, "Because I'm better than you."

Sasuke and Sakura flinched in complete unison.

"Shall we go and surprise our beloved stalker?" Naruto offered generously and stopped walking at the same time.

As though Fate was smiling down at them, Sasuke and Sakura (again) agreed in unison.

Inner Sakura exulted and fainted from overwhelming pleasure.

"We know you're there," the blonde lazily shouted out. "Just come out and save our precious time, will you?"

Something stirred from behind the shadow of a huge tree but no one came forth. They waited for a few more seconds but nothing happened. Naruto rolled his eyes, the stalker was still there, before reaching down to the pouch that was conveniently strapped around his right leg and drew out a kunai. He tossed it to the direction of that particular shadow but was soon taken by surprise when a hand lashed out and caught the speeding kunai. From behind the tree, a tall figure emerged and as sudden as his appearance, a dreary feeling hung about in the atmosphere, slowly enveloping them. Naruto unconsciously shivered, his spine tingling in unknown unease. Sasuke and Sakura were no better off, both stood rooted to where they had been waiting for Naruto.

The figure turned out to be a long-haired genin, with a Grass forehead-protector.

Sneering at the three stunned genins.

_This is not good, _Naruto's mind screamed out. _This guy is way too powerful to be a genin. There's something wrong with his chakra... Dammit! I have to tell those two to run!_

He turned to yell at them and found his team mates paralyzed by a wave of unknown fear. Naruto cursed and shouted, "Sasuke, Sakura, RUN!"

After a moment of hesitation, the two genins blurred out forward; with Sasuke pulling Sakura away as they moved as fast as they could. Naruto didn't understand what had compelled him to do that; he certainly didn't care about them. Or did he? _If they die, I'll be disqualified from the exam._ Snapping out of his short trance, the blonde swiftly moved sideway to block the Grass nin that had began to advance towards his two team mates. Naruto was determined to hold the nin off as long as he could, until he was quite sure that Sasuke and Sakura were out of possible danger. His mind was a whirlwind of confusion but he knew one thing; he had to fight. At least for himself. Drawing out a couple of kunai, Naruto grinned scornfully at the sneering nin before him.

"You have to get past me first," he spat challengingly. _This is going to be painful..._

The Grass nin didn't seem at all moved by that. He slowly took off his straw hat, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes. Naruto grimaced when an unnaturally long tongue began slithering out from the nin's mouth. "My target is...Sasuke-kun. You better not stand in my way, brat."

"Unfortunately for you, I like standing in other's way," Naruto launched forward, intending to take on the nin first.

To his surprise, and anger, a sudden gust of wind erupted from the nin, forcing him to take a quick retreat. Naruto shielded his face with both arms, wincing slightly at the impact from the wind. It was like a thousand of sharp knives flying through the air, shredding everything that stood on its path to tiny pieces. The blonde immediately found protection from a nearby tree, where he was given the chance to curse at everything and planned for his next attack. There was nothing much to plan as he knew nothing about the strength of this Grass genin and he still didn't know the exact use of that gust of wind. Naruto thought that it looked like some kind of summoning but he was just not sure; perhaps it was something different...

He chanced a look towards the nin when the wind had died down but Naruto's eyes widened when he found himself face to face with a gigantic snake, this one even bigger than the one he had killed about two months ago. The blonde groaned inwardly. _Did I somehow have done wrong to snakes in my past lives or something?! They seemed to really hate me for no reason._ He laughed cynically at that very thought, as though he found it utterly amusing to be chase around by the obviously summoned snake. Naruto concentrated his chakra on his feet, like he had done in his last fight but he knew that Kage Bunshin could do nothing against the snake. And that damned Grass nin had disappeared! _He did say something about Sasuke..._

_Okay, time to get serious!_

Taking a last leap from a low branch, Naruto did a summersault and landed heavily twenty feet way from the thrashing snake. He did a series of hand seals, the one that neither Ino, nor his team mates had ever seen. Upon completing the complicated seals, Naruto yelled out in triumph, "Rakurai Katana no Jutsu!" (Thunderbolt Blade)

From the wrist of his right hand, a series of bolt suddenly materialised, moving like mini thunders striking at each other around his hand, growing bigger and wilder once Naruto began feeding them with his chakra. It was like watching some sort of a thunder storm brewing at the palm of his hand, and the bolts began shaping into an almost recognisable form of a katana, sparks flying merrily with every clash. He smirked at the snake that was slithering closer, flexing his 'armed' arm and at the same time, making absolute sure that he was in a safe distance from the growing thunder blade as it was possible that even him, as the user could be severely injured if he was not careful in ministering this lighting-type jutsu. Naruto met the glistening fangs of the snake in a frontal assault.

Instead of slashing through the thick scales like ordinary blade would, the thunderbolt blade paralyzed its victim at first, using the extremely high voltage from circulating bolts contained in the blade. That was why the snake stopped moving inches away from Naruto, thrashing and twisting in a net of thunder but to no avail. It was impossible to escape once one got caught in the 'Rakurai Katana' and was left to the mercy of the jutsu user. But as always, the last option one had was to die. The blonde genin was enjoying his little torture but at the thought of his two team mates, he defiantly increased the voltage. Once the reptile lay motionless in a heap of barbecued snake-meat, Naruto cancelled the jutsu, smiling as the blade slowly disappeared.

_Now where did that snake-boy go?_ Naruto stood staring at the trees that surrounded him, but they proved to be no help at all. The blonde sighed. _Guess I have to do it the old fashioned way..._

Naruto moved forward and before long, he was reduced to nothing but a blue-and-black blur zigzagging through the forest.

1010101

Uchiha Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance. _Why the heck did I run?! I'm an Uchiha, dammit! Uchiha didn't run from a fight! This is all that stupid, dead-last, urchin--_

"Anou, Sasuke-kun?"

He snapped his head towards Sakura, who was resting besides him. "What?"

"Why are we running?"

_Because that dobe told us to! Damn, even that sounds stupid._ "I don't know."

Sakura frowned darkly, her lips pursed into a pout. "Me too. But when that weird guy just appeared like that and Naruto told me to run, it seemed like the best thing to do..."

"Hn."

There was something about that Grass nin that made Sasuke uncomfortable. He didn't know how to explain the strange sensation he felt when the genin first stepped out of the shadow. It was as if that nin was... a messenger of death. Sasuke didn't like that sense at all; somehow, it made him feel helpless. He wanted to be strong, not to run away and leave that _dobe_ behind! He wanted to kill his brother but how could he do it when there was an enemy out there that he didn't dare to face?! The raven-haired genin clenched and unclenched his fists, his mind furiously trying to sort out the best solution for their current situation. They could retrace their steps and search for Naruto. _I'm going to pound him to death for this..._

Before Sasuke could set his mind on a suitable plan, a soft hiss attracted his attention and he reluctantly tore away from the thoughts that were forming inside his head. He looked up and his eyes met the eyes of the predator, abnormally long tongue licking the pale face delicately as the Grass nin they had been running away from latched himself to a tree not far from the spot which Sasuke had chosen earlier as a resting place, when they had been tired of running. The nin smirked gleefully at them, his tongue lapping to and fro like a live snake; as though he had been enjoying himself immensely. Sakura was at the verge of vomiting, disgusted by the saliva and the tongue itself; even the fearless Inner Sakura cringed in dread. And Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Sassssssuke-kun..."

TBC

A/N:

-yawns- I'm so tired right now. I've just finished this at three in the morning and if there are some slight mistakes involved, do forgive me, ne? thanks to those who had oh, so generously voted for the pairing and it seemed that Naru/Ino is well celebrated. Though there's a few that suggested on a triangle.

A look from the POV of the Hidden Sun genins! So what d'ya think? Is it okay? Is it bad? Do you like it? Do you hate it? -laughs- Oh well, there're so many question to be answered...

And a new jutsu; Rakurai Katana no Jutsu, Thunderbolt Blade. Heck, I honestly don't know where this one comes from. It just kinda... popped out into my head. Okay, about this jutsu, I know that some of you might be confused of where it came from. Where Naruto learn it from, etc. So, here's an explanation;

At the beginning of the anime (and manga), Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll under the influence of Mizuki, correct? He had just the time to learn one jutsu; Kage Bunshin but in this story of mine, I decided that even though he didn't have the chance to practice the other jutsus from the scroll, he had read through them all and many thanks to dear Kyuubi-chan, the information was stored at the back of his head or to be more specific, in Kyuubi's mind. Because they can communicate pretty well with each other, Kyuubi had been teaching Naruto these jutsus to him but as they didn't have much time, Naruto only learnt a few of them. A few but powerful jutsus, 'cause they're actually forbidden, see? Also, the tough part was that Kyuubi only teach Naru how to use the jutsu in his mind, therefore, it's hard to actually do it outside his mindscape. I'll be creating some other jutsus later but if any of you have any good idea for a jutsu, do tell me, ne? I'll be glad to get some help from my readers.

And now for the reviews! (Wah, so many of them! -starry eyes-)

**Narutofreak22**: Anou, thanks for your compliments. -blush- I worked really hard in figuring out the Kyuubi's Eyes so I'm really glad that you like it.

**Gelionlegends**: Thanks for your vote and it seems like this fic is going to be a Naru/Ino after all. You've got some ideas there so I'll think over it all, ne?

**Coca-cola**: I though I've mentioned this before but yes, the kids _do_ know about Kyuubi and Naruto. This is pretty much an AU and I wanna make Naruto more vengeful than the ordinary one so yeah, these people do know. And about the Sun genins, I don't even know what a 'Mary Sue' character is so can't comment there.

**Frank Cadena**: The revenge part is wholly a very complicated thing (even to me) but there are some people that can be excluded from Naru's Revenge List, them being Iruka-sensei (of course), Mr Ichiraku and co, though I do think that Ino just joined the list. Hmm... now that raises a question; if Naru rampaged through Konoha, wouldn't Iruka fight against him? -scratches head- I'm confuse... And this is all your fault! (Just jokin')

**Karibanu**: Wow, that's a really helpful review! Arigato ne, Kari-chan! (Can I call you that? It sounded cute though...) And thanks for your vote too!

**Refused**: I'm more than happy to receive review from you again, refused-san! It's been quite some chapter since I last read from you! And yes, thanks a bunch for your generous compliments, it means so much to me!

**Ice Dragon XXI**: Gomen for the late update but as I've already wrote earlier, I'm kinda busy but it's good to hear from you again! You (and refused-san) are two of my most senior reviewer and I'm so freakingly happy for both of your reviews!

**CrossoverFanatic1**: Well, really, it's my fault but the Sound nin is there. They're just, erm... being overshadowed by the Sun nins! -sweatdrop- Sorry bout that but no, the Sun aren't going to replace the Sound.

**Bluebomber**: Bout the Kyuubi secret, can you please just read the explanation that I've written for **Coca-cola**? It's kinda tiring to repeat it all over again. Gomen, ne? And about the Kyuubi's Eyes and the flashes of gold, don't you think that it's more fashionable and cool with those gold flashes? Nah, just kiddin'. Actually, the times when Naru lost control of his power, he did it unconsciously. But this time, it's a voluntary exchange so the gold flashes were one of the side-effects that I mentioned earlier, only that you'll have to wait to know more, okay? Thanks for your review and vote!

**Blazer6**: Wah, you must've hated Sasuke so much...and your idea on Naru being a lady's man is kinda intriguing. Though that certainly is not good for his revenge plan, you know, being swarmed by girls in the middle of destruction. That'll be funny, I guess. -laughs- And about Ino and Team Ten following Naru, that's very amusing, I must admit that I haven't think about that. Thanks!

**Ghettomusick23**: Well, never heard from you before but I'm glad that you enjoyed my story! -grins widely- keep on reading and reviewing cause I love to read from you again!

**InuSaiyan**: You'll have to read on and continue reviewing to know what the connection is between those Sun nins and Naruto, and I can assure you that it's really something... profitable for our dear fox boy. Yeah, I like the way Naru and Kyuubi react to each other too, that's why I made it that way. Thanks for your review!

**TimeShifter16**: That chakra control thingy is going to appear in the next chapter (hopefully) and it's something relatively useful for Naru, so you'll have to wait to read about it. And of course, review! -wink- Akki and the Sun nins are very confusing, no? But I like them that way, and they do have something to do with Naru's past. I'm updating, I'm updating!

Also to; **Gopu, Wolfgirl13, ErikKoekkoek, e, Xaerox, JerV, Night-Owl123, **and **Naruto-sama-kun;**

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!You've made my day complete by those kind, encouraging words. I felt like Hinata and you're all my 'Naruto's. -smiles- Domo arigato gozaimasu again!

Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!

Kaara.


	11. Chuunin Exam Second Part II

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

Summary so far: Team Seven had crossed path with Orochimaru! Sasuke and Sakura were in a danger, as Oro-chan came slithering pleasantly towards his two victims. Naruto was still trying to find his team mates but soon found out that trees and other creatures lurking in the Forest of Death were not helping at all! What'll happen?! -insert music-

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

1010101: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

Chapter Eleven: Chuunin Exam Second Part II

1010101

Sakura blinked in disgust. _His tongueâ€ It's, it's so, well, long!_ She looked uncertainly between Sasuke and the Grass nin, hesitating on their next action. Although Sakura didn't exactly care about Naruto, she was feeling slightly worried about that blonde teammate of hers. _If Naruto had tried to stop this guy earlier, and now he's here, so where's Naruto?! He can't beâ€dead, can he?_ The pink-haired kunoichi involuntarily shuddered; defiantly forcing back that very thought as she desperately tried to convince herself that Naruto would be fine. _Maybe he got lost. Yeah, that must be it!_ Sakura nodded at that weak attempt of a self-assurance, her mind focusing on the oncoming battle. Sasuke was looking extremely wary and Sakura reluctantly stared at the longhaired Grass nin.

To which she immediately regretted doing.

The man slowly displayed his Earth scroll, sneering at the two Leaf nins. "I _know_ that you _need_ my _Earth_ scroll but you will have to try harder to get it," a conceited laugh followed afterwards but that was not the reason why Sasuke and Sakura instinctively took a step back; it was the fact that the Grass nin had wrapped his super-long tongue around the scroll and swallowed it whole that made those two genins winced. In absolute horror. Touching his eyebrow in mild satisfaction, the longhaired nin locked his eyes at his two preys. "Now, let the fun begin."

1010101

_Dammit! This place is fuckin' confusing!_ Naruto focused on tracing Sasuke and Sakura's chakra but he soon found out that without Kyuubi ranting loudly inside his head, he actually was no good at all in this chakra-tracing business. The blonde genin groaned in complete annoyance. He increased his speed, bouncing off this tree and leaping towards that tree, in hope that he would get to his two team mates (_where in the name of ramen goddess are they?!_) before that weird Grass nin did. Besides, Naruto didn't want to encounter another creature that had outgrown its normal size; it was not an amusing excursion anymore. He jumped onto another low branch, avoided a rather thick mass of leaves and stopped to try and locate any sign of chakra nearby.

Naruto didn't feel any chakra, but he definitely smelt something burning.

Somewhere up north,

Or was it south?

Sniffing the air in a very cute Akamaru-like way, Naruto continued to speed forward, before he hesitated and frowned to the opposite direction. _Where is it from?!_ Cursing the Grass nin, the snake, the trees and every single thing available, the genin did the only reasonable thing he could; he charged ahead! Who cared about direction when one had unlimited stamina and could always turn back again when one found out that one had been going the wrong way around? But this time, it was a dangerous gamble. The Chuunin title is at stake and as Naruto flitted through the forest, a grin crept onto his feature. He couldn't wait to see precious Sasuke-kun's face when the so-called dead last came to his rescue.

That very thought acted efficiently as a burst of fuel, urging him to go faster.

Maybe he was lucky that day or maybe he had unconsciously mastered the art of sniffing towards for right direction when Naruto soon could hear a series of explosions, most likely through the exchanges of jutsus from somewhere to his left. He approached the location with caution, having known better than to barge unthinkingly (like he had done in the fight with Haku) into an intense battlefield. He had thought about using genjutsu, as to make himself invisible but dismissed the idea at once, flinching slightly when he remembered that he hadn't really perfected that one type of genjutsu yet. Kyuubi's mocking voice as the youkai had oh, so merrily laughed at him when he failed continually at that particular genjutsu was somewhat hurtful.

_I could do just fine without that stupid genjutsu anytime_, the blonde thought furiously.

Naruto inched closer, making sure that he was well hidden as not to waste the 'surprise' advantage that he currently hoped on. He peered from underneath an effectively concealed thicket, though it was rather uncomfortable and prickly there. The fight that revealed itself before him does not make the blonde genin excited, so to say, as he watched Sasuke 'cheerfully' dispelled fireballs at the Grass nin, to which Naruto noticed had changed his face. It was more snake-like than before, and portrayed obvious maliciousness. It was a face that guaranteed instant dislike by one that followed one's sole instinct. He also noticed that Sakura was nearby, shaking with unknown tremor of fear for something that Naruto couldn't yet grasp.

He decided that it was about the right time to launch into action, after witnessing that Sasuke didn't actually fared well with the-- _wait, that's not a Grass symbol! It's a Sound one! So this guy's from Sound village, with that bandage-head and co._ _Wonder what they're up to now._ Naruto swallowed down his curiosity as he sensed that Sasuke definitely in need of help, the pretty face contorted in fury and, was that fear? Naruto almost chortle out in amusement. The high-and-mighty Sasuke-sama was actually afraid? The amusement died down and was replaced by sheer resentment. _That Sound guy must be one hell of a fighter, _Naruto darkly mused. He slipped out several kunai and prepared to perform his favourite hand seal for the Kage Bunshin.

_Entrance of the hero!_

Both shinobi that was engaged in the fight was completely taken by surprise when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by so many audiences, with exactly the same smirking face and sparkling blue eyes. Naruto. The Sound nin hissed in anger, as he was so close in 'taming' the Uchiha survivor and reaching the goal as why he was there in the first place. Sasuke unconsciously grunted and one couldn't possibly tell if he was relieved or further aggravated by the way Naruto choose to make an entrance. Really, such cliché! Sakura gasped, her eyes wildly searched around for the real Naruto, as she was quite sure that the blonde genin would burst out of nowhere and started insulting snake man. _Come to think of it, he might insult Sasuke-kun too._

"Yo, Lord Snakeyness," one Naruto stepped out from the others, sneering at the Sound nin. "Changed your village already? That's kinda convenient for dirty work, isn't it?"

"You're late, dobe," Sasuke, having picked up his formal cold attitude, hastily tried to insert a better image of himself. "What took you so long?"

The snake man narrowed his slitted eyes and answered for Naruto. "You've defeated my snake."

"Yeah, well, if you fancy barbecued snake meat, you're welcome to try," the blonde retorted in quite an annoyingly (to both snake guy and Sasuke) cool manner. He turned his attention to a certain raven-haired team mate of his and grinned widely. "Need my help?"

Uchiha Sasuke winced visibly at that particular phrase.

Out of the blue, Sakura's voice rang from behind him. "That's Orochimaru, Naruto, one of the legendary sennins! We can't possibly defeat him!"

"Orochimaru?" Naruto's eyebrows rose as he regarded the hissing nin before him. Then, without much consent, he said, "That crazy, power hungry, mentally deficient sennin? You're _the_ Orochimaru?"

The incredulous tone portrayed in Naruto's voice alone was enough to make the missing nin hissed louder, and Naruto took it as a rather funny imitation of the snake that he had just killed. Orochimaru snarled at the blonde genin, eyes burning in cold fury, "Yes, I am the one and only Orochimaru, brat. You'd better not stand in my way or--"

"Oh please, not that old threat again," the blonde snorted in a truly exasperated way. When he locked his eyes at Orochimaru, Sasuke (and perhaps Sakura too) could see the iron-wrought determination flashed in those sapphire orbs. "Lets not waste any time, Orochimaru-_sama_. It's not everyday that I can fight a _sennin_." The emphasis on that title was laced with evident sarcasm.

Though in truth, Naruto had no confidence whatsoever in fighting the sennin. And Kyuubi wasn't there to help him this time. _Dammit! Of all the time that fox chooses to rest, now has to be it!_

Orochimaru threw back his head and laughed, sharp and cynical. He sneered lazily at Naruto and then, at a thoroughly annoyed Sasuke. "It seems that our match will have to be delayed, Sasuke-kun. You have an agonizingly -- obstinate -- brat as a team mate. It shan't take long, though."

Sasuke, unwilling as he might have been, was quite enraged when Orochimaru fixed his attention on Naruto and the bunshins but he knew that he was running low in chakra supply. It would only be like fighting a losing battle and he ain't going to lose just yet. He placed no hope, no hope at all at Naruto and that made the Uchiha even more furious. _That dobe better buy me some time to think through a plan. If not, this is all going to go down the drain._ Furthermore, that hole on his thigh was really starting to sting! Trying to hide the limp caused by that self-inflicted injury, Sasuke made his way to the edge of that clearing, consciously eyeing the two nin in front of him that had done nothing, yet. The bunshins were moving restlessly in the background, waiting for a signal.

Orochimaru was the first to attack, swiping a trail of blood at some weird tattoo ornamenting his wrist after biting that particular thumb. Naruto noticed at once that the snake nin was about to do another summoning and his trail of thought died immediately when a yell rang through the forest. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke and voila! Two huge snakes coiling and twisting before him.

Naruto groaned inwardly. _Not again. I. Hate. Snakes. _

Orochimaru displayed an elegant way of jumping onto the head of a snake, that dreadful smirk of his widening at the bemused look on the blonde's face. Naruto cursed violently under his breath as he glared up at the snake sennin, swearing at just about everything. The blonde genin moved several steps back, joining in the mass of his bunshins as his mind tried furiously to think about a plan. He couldn't possibly use Rakurai Katana again as Orochimaru would've guessed what he intended to do. _No, that won't work. What I need is timeâ€ And maybe an area destruction type of jutsu_. He went through the list jutsus that he had learnt but Naruto couldn't make up his mind on any of them. The reason; Sasuke and Sakura. _Kyuubi said no showing off to others. Damn!_

"What's wrong, brat?" Orochimaru sneered from his position, noticing the painstakingly obvious annoyance on Naruto's face. "Fox got your tongue?"

_What the hell--! Okay, that's it! Snake-bastard's going down!_ Naruto narrowed his eyes and performed the hand seal for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu again, creating double the amount of the earlier bunshins. When he had finished, he smirked up at the Sound nin. "At least I'm not so ugly that I have to use other's face to cover up mine, like you did."

The exchanges of insults stopped there as one of the snakes lunged forward, diamond-shaped eyes focused on the 'Naruto's surrounding them. The bunshins were no match at all against the summoned snake as the reptile easily rampaged through them, lashing out its tail in the rapid approach. Orochimaru stood still on another snake, watching in mild satisfaction at the destruction caused by the snake, as the real Naruto had not yet been found. The bunshins were scattered around, fighting and hurling kunai in vain before disappearing into puffs of smoke by a lash of tail from the snake. Orochimaru glanced at where Sasuke and Sakura were supposed to be hiding, gleefully licking his bottom lip.

1010101

_This is useless,_ Naruto gritted his teeth as he crouched vigilantly behind a thick shrubbery, watching his clones being lashed to 'death' and Orochimaru leering superiorly from the top of a snake. He had taken refuge there, intending to test his opponent first by using Kage Bunshin and by the look of it; it wouldn't be long until all the bunshin disappeared. _I have to do something, but what?! Can't use jutsus that'll break my promise to Kyuubi, but that snake-bastard's too powerful to be defeated only by the usual ones. And there's Sasuke and Sakuraâ€ they might tell Kakashi bout what they'll see today. _The blonde genin frowned but the storm soon dissipated and a large grin etched itself onto his face. _Since when do I care, anyway? All this thinking, man, I'm growing old! _

With that thought planted firmly inside his head, Naruto leaped out of hiding and landed in front of what was left from his many bunshins. He quickly performed a hand seal and the bunshins 'poof'-ed out of existence. "Right, now it's time to be serious."

Orochimaru snorted at the remark. "You mean you were not serious before? I thought you're wiser than you look but alas, even sennin makes mistakes."

"We'll see about that," the blonde retorted, warily eyeing the snake before him. He brought out a kunai and fell into a fighting stance. "We'll see what you have to say when your precious snakes die one by one."

"My snakes versus your kunai and you," the sennin laughed derisively, his long hair ruffled by the sudden movement. "Struggle as you like, brat, you'll never win."

Ignoring the insult, Naruto concentrated hard on doing a foreign hand seals, with just one hand. Sasuke and Sakura, who were watching from aside, looked at each other in confusion. The only person they had ever seen that done hand seals using a hand were Haku, and that was because of his Bloodline Limit! The Uchiha survivor tried to activate his Sharingan, in hope that he'll be able to copy the hand seals but before he could do so, Naruto was done. The blonde was grinning from one ear to another, looking down at the hand he held a kunai with. Sasuke followed the gesture, and was completely taken aback by what he saw. Naruto's hand was enveloped by chakra, plainly visible to naked eyes! And the chakra was encircling the kunai in rapid succession.

_That's, that's impossible,_ the raven-haired genin's eyes widened. _It's like Kakashi-sensei's Chidori but slightly different. Naruto couldn't have known how to do that!_

Sakura opted to speak out her thought, emerald orbs clouded with uncertainty. "What's Naruto doing? There's no jutsu like that enlisted in any scrolls in the library."

Her question was left unanswered as their attention went back to the blonde genin, who had seemed satisfied by the result of the seals. The kunai in his hand were covered by flame-like chakra, distinctly glowing blue under the glare of evening sun. Orochimaru too was looking quite perplexed by the action from the fox boy before him but dismissed it as some sort of fancy simple jutsu that had been created by some brainless shinobi. Surely, that kunai could do nothing than scratch his summoned snake and enrage it further, something that the Sound nin wanted Naruto to do. The sennin nevertheless observed Naruto closely, as he was curious of the purpose of that one-handed seals. _It didn't seem to serve any useful intentionâ€ _

Shrugging off his curiosity, Orochimaru ordered the snake to attack Naruto as he commanded the one he was on to stay still. The sennin was terribly in need of entertainment and to him; Naruto was the one that could provide the entertainment that he needed. _Apart from dear Sasuke-kun, that is_. Orochimaru smirked, certain of his victory against the genin. "It won't be long now, Sasuke-kun."

It was the same routine again for Naruto, evading and leaping from tree to tree though he had something purely different in mind. The snake was more agile and faster than the previous ones but Naruto knew that the fight wouldn't last long. His fingers curled even tighter around the kunai, pushing more and more chakra into the core of that inanimate object. _The more chakra I can gather, the easier this will be._ The grin on his face widened as he dodged yet another lunge from the snake. Naruto chanced a glance at the Sound nin and he chuckled lightly when he saw that Orochimaru was looking somewhat impatient. _Master dearest thought that precious snakey could kill the weak, little genin. Well, master dearest thought wrong then! Time to put the plan on action!_

Naruto did a back flip, gathered some chakra to his feet and propelled himself from a nearby tree straight towards the furious reptile, like a blonde-and-black missile. The snake hissed loudly and retaliated by lunging forward, displaying a pair of sharp fangs. Sakura thought that they were going to crash in mid-air, or worse, Naruto would be completely swallowed by the snake but to her utter surprise, the blonde genin managed to avoid the incoming collision at just the exact moment and moved closer within the snake's guard. Orochimaru sensed that the genin had something up his sleeves and it had something to do with that kunai in his hand. The sennin hissed in apprehension, but his eyes never did leave Naruto's figure.

Closing in to the snake, Naruto raised his hand high and with all his strength, he forcefully drove the glowing kunai through the thick scales of the reptile. Done with that particular part, the blonde genin immediately retreated and grinned from the sideway as the snake halted, staring at the imbedded kunai. It didn't feel much pain, as Naruto knew that an ordinary kunai would only felt like a puncture from a needle to the snake. But, that was _if_ the kunai was an ordinary one. And in this case, the kunai acted as something quite different. The snake had resumed its predatory instinct after the momentary distraction and had begun advancing towards the still-grinning genin. Naruto, to everyone's surprise, didn't budge from his current position.

Sakura thought, _What's he doing?! He'll get killed!_

Inner Sakura thought, _Move your ass out of there, spike-head!_

Sasuke thought, _That dobe must have been setting up somethingâ€ Show me, Naruto; show me what you've got._

And Orochimaru thought, _Brat got something planned. Never mind, his effort will be useless once he fight me._

Oblivious to whatever the other's thoughts about him, Naruto's fingers began moving to and fro into yet another series of hand seals. The snake was coming closer, and Sakura had the faintest feeling that Naruto had paused for a split second, before continuing to another different set of seals. The second one caught Sasuke's attention as he missed the first set of hand seals; it was the seals for Kawarimi no Jutsu. The raven-haired genin narrowed his Sharingan-ed eyes, trying to decipher what Naruto actually had in mind. The snake, which knew and cared nothing about hand seals, was inches away from the blonde and Sakura gasped in horror when it fully-swallowed Naruto.

But of course, both Sasuke and Orochimaru knew better.

_Kawarimi!_

Naruto reappeared a few feet behind the enraged snake, finishing his first set of hand seals and yelled, "Ignite! Hinote Fuiin no Jutsu!" (Flame Seal)

Nothing seemed to happen for the next second and Orochimaru was beginning on a cynical laugh when suddenly, tentacles of blue flames shot outward from the kunai that Naruto had driven into the snake and wrapped themselves around the glistening body of the snake. Sasuke and Sakura were shocked beyond words as they stared at the reptile, writhing in pain with the raging flames totally engulfed its huge body. Orochimaru was severely taken aback, the slitted eyes widening at the display of an unknown jutsu before him. The Sound nin hissed venomously and snapped his head towards Naruto, who was grinning mockingly towards him. As the snake turned into nothing but a pile of ashes, the blue flames slowly subsided and eventually disappeared.

Naruto raised an eyebrow towards the sennin. "How's that for a genin? One down and two more to go."

"You surprised me, brat," Orochimaru spat out rancorously. The remaining snake under his command shifted slightly, as if infuriated by the loss of its 'friend'. "But now, you have to fight me."

"Ooh, I'm sooo scared," the blonde retorted, scrunching up his face into an almost successful imitation of someone who was morbidly terrified. "Just attack, will you, snakey? I'm tired of talking already!"

Provoked by the negligence displayed by Naruto, the snake and its master lunged towards Naruto, who hastily sidestepped the attack. The blonde drew out another kunai and was prepared to make the same hand seals again for his jutsu when the snake did a turn and rammed straight onto him. With a sickening crack, Naruto was sent flying into the rows of trees. Sasuke and Sakura gasped at the same time but Inner Sakura was too worried about the blonde genin to notice that. Sakura stood up and cautiously eyed the broken trees, trying to find anything that indicated that Naruto had survived the collision but Sasuke jerked her down again, pressing a finger against his pale lips. The two remained in a silent mode, watching Orochimaru and the snake in weary vigilance.

Naruto winced; gingerly trying to stand up but found at once that one or more of his ribs must be broken. A sharp wave of pain washed over him when he tried to move and Naruto found himself quite glad to flop back onto the clutter of bits of wood. It was very uncomfortable and irritating at the same time, laying there with the knowledge that one snake bastard must be laughing at him at that time. He closed his eyes, trying to ease down the pain and fervently praying that Orochimaru somehow had an insanity fit and didn't go looking for him. But that was almost as impossible as Kakashi turning up in time. The blonde supported his weight with a hand and placed another one to his side, brushing his fingers lightly against the bruised spot.

His lips slowly curved into a smile. _It's healing--_

_(I left you for a short rest, child, and look what you have gotten yourself into.)_

_You sounded like Iruka-sensei,_ Naruto retorted lazily. _Say, how long is it going to take to heal?_

_(Not long, perhaps another half minute,)_ the voice faltered for a split second, before Kyuubi spoke out again. _He is a strong opponent, child._

The blonde snorted in disdain and said, sarcastically, _Yeah, I kinda realized that._

_(I hate snakes.)_

It was a very un-Kyuubi-ish remark that set Naruto chortling out violently. The genin groaned when his side throbbed with pain. _Then help me defeat him._

Naruto could almost _hear_ Kyuubi pacing defiantly inside his head. (_Get up. Now.)_

_Oh yeah! Let's kick some snake butts!_

Sakura was starting to get very worried when she could see no trace of Naruto. The kunoichi kneeled down and efficiently tended to Sasuke's wounds to take her mind off the horrible predictions she had over Naruto's fate, wrapping the boy's leg with a roll of bandages that she had brought along. Sakura was, after all, a very thoughtful kunoichi. She glanced at Sasuke, but the raven-hared genin was still looking at Orochimaru and the snake and therefore, was quite oblivious to Sakura's inquiring gaze. His eyes hardened when the Sound nin suddenly let out a peal of laughter. Upon finishing with the wounds, Sakura shifted slightly and sat besides Sasuke. Very carefully, she tried to venture on a question but was soon disrupted by a blast from the battlefield.

Naruto stood before the Orochimaru and the snake, a feral grin etched onto his tanned face. "Miss me, snakey?"

The sennin regarded Naruto with sheer amusement. "You're a stubborn fool, brat. You should've run while you still had the chance. But now, it's too late."

"I've never thought of running," the blonde retorted, his hands moving into a series of familiar hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In an instant, hundreds of Narutos flooded the place, encircling the real Naruto and Orochimaru, his summoned snake hissing loudly towards the sudden appearances. The Sound nin smirked and laughed that typical bad-guy laugh of his. "Bunshins, again? It seems like you've run out of option, brat."

Naruto smiled, despite the tense atmosphere that was looming darkly over them. His fingers were still entwined together, as if in poise for another jutsu. "These bunshins are not going to fight, they're to prevent _you_ from escaping."

That wiped out the smirk off Orochimaru's face and the sennin narrowed his eyes towards the small figure on the ground. "Impudent remark from an inexperienced genin. You'll not live to regret this, _brat_!"

The snake began attacking again and Naruto was instantly on constant alert, dividing his attention between the assailants and listening to Kyuubi's instructions inside his head. The fox demon had agreed that he didn't have much chance in winning this battle and reluctant as he was, Kyuubi foretold that Naruto would have to use every available jutsu there was in order to gain an upper hand. Their only trouble was to decide on what jutsu to use. Naruto had immediately dismissed Rakurai Katana, as the opponent was too large to be dealt with the thunderbolt blade. He pointed out that he could use the Hinote Fuiin again but figured that Orochimaru would be wise enough to evade this particular jutsu by then. Besides, the jutsu was both time and chakra consuming.

_What do you think, Kyuubi?_

_(Eliminate the snake first, and then, its master. I suggest that you use another Katon type jutsu, as it is the easiest way to deal damage.)_

_Right on!_

Naruto leaped to a safer distance, his fingers busily weaving into a set of hand seals. Landing in front of a mass of his bunshins, the blonde was forced to retreat further when the snake came lunging towards him again. Finishing the hand seals in time, Naruto somersaulted and dispelled a giant fireball, "Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

The sennin smirked and jumped away from his summoned snake, paying no attention at all to the terrible hiss of pain when the fireball crashed headlong with the reptile. Orochimaru darted straight towards Naruto, who had just landed and was in a fighting stance, waiting for the snake sennin in an almost invisible anxiety. Naruto blocked a spinning kick that was aimed for his head, involuntarily staggering under the heavy force. The genin backed away in an instant, cursing loudly as Orochimaru came charging again. Before long, both was locked in an uneven battle of taijutsu; uneven being that the sennin was far more experienced and stronger, therefore succeeding in landing more than a few heavy blows on Naruto.

_Dammit! If this goes on, I'll be beaten to a bloody pulp!_

_(You have to be faster!)_ Kyuubi's voice boomed again, sounding slightly irritated and frustrated. (_And didn't you see that he's practically aiming for your joints? Block those attacks!)_

_Stop yelling, will you?! _Naruto dodged a lashed foot, only for a fist to connect painfully with his right side. _He's a fucking sennin for crying out loud! _

Kyuubi growled in response. (_Create some distance and then, I will help you.)_

_Help me?_ That brief distraction earned him a hard punch to his stomach and Naruto skidded to the other side of the clearing. He harshly wiped away the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth and frowned. Orochimaru was smirking in an annoyingly smug relish. The blonde groaned and flipped back his thought to the fox demon. _How? How can you help me? Yapping like a mad fox did not count as helping, you know._

_(I will advise you to keep your language in check, child,)_ the tone of resentment was far too obvious to be ignored. Naruto murmured out his reluctant apology. (_Use my chakra; use my power, if you must.)_

Naruto swallowed, hard. _Are-- are you sure, Kyuubi?_

The fox merely laughed at the retort. (_You're not afraid, I gather? Furthermore, you must not lose, as if you dies, I will vanish along.)_

_I know you're a conceited fox to the root,_ the blonde genin acidly replied, eyeing the Sound nin that was starting to advance towards him. _Just don't make me lose absolute control over myself; I don't want that to ever happen again._

_(As you wish.)_

Orochimaru was thoroughly enjoying his little fight with the blonde genin, but the sennin knew that he shouldn't waste any more time than he had already did. He had wanted to finish the fight quickly, put that curse seal on dear Sasuke-kun and let his Sound henchmen (and girl) took care of the rest. Thus, the sennin had lunched forward with every intention to finish off this stubborn brat that had caused too much dents to his ego. His snake-like eyes slitted over and he was almost halfway towards Naruto when something -- unnatural -- began to happen to the brat. It was the air of ancient evil that stirred maliciously around Naruto that actually made Orochimaru halted in the first place, before something else caught the sennin's attention.

The atmosphere was thick with intense swirling of chakra, flaring up from none other than the blonde genin. Naruto was half kneeling, his eyes closed and a slightly pained expression painted onto his face. He staggered slowly up, opening his eyes. They were blazing crimson with interval flashes of gold, and at that particular moment, Orochimaru realized that the blonde's chakra had also turned from the usual blue to a lighter shade of crimson. The snake sennin stirred uneasily, confused by the sudden changes happening around Naruto. Then, the answer came waltzing into his head. _That's the chakra ofâ€ Ninetails! Ninetails must've slipped from under the seal but by the look of it, he haven't quite succeed yet. _

"Snakey," Naruto's voice was hoarse and those crimson eyes glared straight at the stunned Orochimaru. "Now, the real fight begins."

Naruto blurred out of existence and appeared behind the snake sennin, claw-like fingers lashing out for victim but Orochimaru had already anticipated the move. The blonde's attack met with nothing but a log of wood. Glancing wildly around, Naruto suddenly attacked a nearby tree, to which Orochimaru separated himself from the destroyed bark. Both exchanged blows and kicks for several minutes; Naruto had swiftly gained the upper hand, due to his increase of speed and agility. The corner of the blonde's mouth curved up into a malicious grin, his eyes narrowing in wild pleasure at the intensity of the fight. A trace of panic could be seen surfacing from the sennin's face. It seemed like the sennin was, for once, in the defending position.

Twisted a he was, Orochimaru did deserve the title 'sennin'.

Thus, he had already devised a plan to stop the rampaging demon vessel.

Orochimaru evaded a punch and jumped back, his hands moving into a set of hand seals. As he had guessed before, Naruto followed him closely behind. The sennin abruptly stopped and ducking a kick, he slammed his right hand against Naruto's unguarded belly, exactly where the seal for Kyuubi was. "Five Part Seal!"

Stunned by the sudden move, Naruto could do nothing but snarl at the smirking Sound nin, as he slowly started to lose consciousness. There were voices resounding inside his head; Kyuubi's voice and-- was that Sakura? Staring at the pink-haired kunoichi from under his heavy lids, the blonde tried to tell her to take Sasuke and run but his arms were oddly numb, so were the other parts of his body. The Fourth's seal was burning painfully after that second seal from Orochimaru, the pain succeeding in making Naruto conscious for the next few seconds, though that didn't do much help. The smirking face of that snake sennin was the last thing Naruto saw before he completely fell prey to unconscious vulnerability, blanketing him with the familiar cold darkness.

1010101

Sasuke was beyond shocked. _That dobe--did he just--that stupid dobe just turned into the demon! _The raven-haired genin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, restoring his self-composure as not to cloud his judgment. _No, no! He didn't turn into Ninetails. It's just a bit of the demon's power. But, such power-- I could've killed Itachi if - I - had that kind of power! _His fingers curled into fists at that very thought and Sasuke grimly watched Naruto staggered and landed heavily onto the ground, Orochimaru towering over the limp figure. He could sense Sakura fidgeting besides him but Sasuke didn't dare to make any move. Not yet. Clutching his bandaged thigh, Sasuke contemplated darkly if they could escape without actually being caught by that Sound nin.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura hesitated, her eyes still fixed on the unconscious Naruto. "What should we do now?"

"Escape."

Emerald orbs widened in surprise. "But how? And what about Naruto?"

"Grab him in the way and go to the tower," Sasuke whispered carefully. "We have to inform them that Orochimaru is here."

"No such luck, Sasuke-kun."

That voice did not belong to Sakura. Both genins instinctively leaped away from their hiding spot, startled by the sudden appearance by Orochimaru over their carelessness. Sakura was positively trembling in fear while Sasuke had managed to look reasonably determined. The sennin eyed the pair with the air of a snake eyeing its dinner. Sakura had drawn out several kunai, holding them firmly, though her hands were considerably shaking. Her eyes kept darting from Naruto to Sasuke, before landing on Orochimaru. The raven-haired genin narrowed his eyes, trying to guess what the sennin was about to do next but he never did go far with guessing on other people's mind. Sasuke was too used to ignoring them.

"Now that the brat is out of the way, shall we continue, Sasuke-kun?"

TBC

A/N:

-dances a victory dance- Oh yeah! If the last chappie is super long, this one is slightly super long! Hah! How d'you like that?! -flops down in exhaustion- You have to review this one, dear readers. I've been spending nights doing this.

Special thanks goes to Keltosh-san, who had been helping and encouraging me through this chapter. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Next is through Ino's POV, and something inside Naruto's head. Ah, ya know, when he's unconscious and stuff. Don't wanna tell you, it'll spoil the surprise!

Reviews! -gasp- My very first hundredth reviews! I'm so very happy! Thanks to those who had supported me and my foolishness from the beginning, namely, refused-san, Ice Dragon XXI and ErikKoekkoek! Arigato gozaimasu! Love ya all!

**Keltosh**: Thanks again for all your tremendous help! Well yeah, I felt obliged to give an explanation for the jutsu coz you know, maybe someone got baffled how the heck did Naruto suddenly learn all those jutsus. And I never did know that Kyuubi knows jutsus. It just strikes me as funny when I imagined the great Kyuubi performing hand seals with those pawsâ€ -laughs-

**Ice Dragon XXI**: I like that part too. -grins- But I'm thorough with writing fighting scenes involving snakes. There's not much movement involved and I pretty much became repetitive. Haiâ€ If you remember that 'something' that's wrong with the last chappie, do tell me, ne? Anyway, you really wouldn't want me to just write this story with my own ideas. What if I suddenly had an insanity fit and decided to pair Naru up with Oro-chan? That'll be disastrous!

**blazer6**: I have to admit that I like the way Haku turned out to be a guy, and that's the thing that inspired me for the silver-haired Sun genin. You really are hell bent in making Naru a ladies man, aren't you? -pokes blazer6-

**warriorphantom**: Hai, hai! I won't make precious Sasuke and Sakura look stupid. And if you do have a lot of other comments, I would really appreciate it if you would review or write an email to me, ne?

**refused**: You deserved every honour there is, refused-san! Yeah, I just did the whole exam things through Naru's eyes (and some other POVs) and am I glad that you like it! Kyuubi got re-sealed and Sasuke got the curse seal too but a new twist will happens about that one. -grins evilly- You'll have to wait to know!

**Stormraven**: Hoi! All that you wanted to know will be explained in the chapters to follow and next chappie focused mainly on Ino but first, GIRL ROCKS! Yeah! -frowns- You do know that I'm a girl too, now do you?

**Daniel of Lorien**: That hurts.You know, it's not really nice to call someone an idiot. And honestly, I was trying really hard not to make Sasuke and Sakura OOC but this is just the way I had the outlook of the characters. And it affects the way I write them. Sure, Sasuke is strong and all, but he's also an arrogant ass. You can't really deny that.

**Skuld's Sentaro**: Maa, maa. -pats head- It's okay, don't be so upset. I never did intend for this one to be a Naru/Hina, so don't worry, ne? Well, you can do something, you know, about the other pairings. You can give your thoughts and suggestions, and reasons why you'd like to see whom with whom, and then, maybe I'll consider it. So you do play an important role here!

And to the others;

Gopu, Night-Owl123 and matrix-1000,

Thanks so much! I could've have done this without you!

Until next time; Read, Enjoy and Review!

Kaara.


	12. Chuunin Exam Second Part III

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

Summary so far: Team Seven had crossed path with Orochimaru! And Kyuubi was re-sealed, no thanks to the snake sennin. Sasuke and Sakura in trouble while Ino felt that something was wrong with our dear blonde. Call it a mother's instinct if you must.

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

1010101: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

Chapter Twelve: Chuunin Exam Second Part III

1010101

Ino knew that something had gone wrong with Naruto.

She couldn't really explain why but there was this dread, or whatever it was, that made her unnecessarily worried. She tilted her head upward, staring at the giant canopies hanging gloomily above them and desperately tried to soothe down the pounding of her heart against her ribcage. Failing miserably, Ino turned her attention to her two teammates, who were crouching beneath some giant roots of a giant tree, whispering among themselves. Team Ten was moving kinda slow at that time, thanks to the Konoha's resident lazy genius and his moves to avoid unwanted fight with teams that could turn out to be stronger than them. Ino snorted. _Yeah right, Shikamaru and his excuses. He's just too lazy to fight!_

"Oy, Shika!" Ino stomped towards the two still-inconspicuous boys, vaguely noticing the existence of a throbbing vein on her forehead. "How are we suppose to get any Heaven scroll if we don't fight with anyone?"

The pony-tailed genin frowned darkly. "We'll wait."

"We've been waiting enough!" eyes blazing indignantly (to which both Shika and Chouji took a step back), the blonde kunoichi berated on her teammates. "Can't we just hunt down other groups now? I'm sick of hiding everytime--" Ino paused and strained her ears, as if trying to hear some sound or noises that the wind had picked up. She turned to Shikamaru. "Did you hear that?"

A double 'No' from the boys.

"Well, listen harder!"

Slightly intimidated by the maniac fire burning in Ino's eyes, Shikamaru and Chouji grudgingly followed the order. Shikamaru's annoyed face scrunched up in uncertainty while Chouji's small eyes glazed over at particularly nothing. Aside from intervals creaking and some highly suspicious insect sounds, the boys couldn't really hear what Ino was trying to point out to them. The blonde kunoichi placed her hands firmly on her hips, glaring in all the patience she could muster at her teammates. Her sharp eyes caught sight of Chouji's stubby fingers, creeping towards a new packet of chips though its owner was still apparently deep in his hearing mission. Ino slapped the fingers away and was awarded by an irritated yelp.

"There's nothing, Ino," Shikamaru drawled out, his brows knitted into a fresh frown. "Maybe you're hearing things."

"Yeah!" Somewhat angered by Ino's offending slap on his fingers, Chouji immediately backed the lazy genius up.

_Am I hearing things? It's sounded like, like Naruto's voice..._ Ino reluctantly nodded her head and apologized at a pouting Chouji, before engaging herself in a brief yelling match with the chubby genin. The boys resumed their earlier positions and conspired silently, though the blonde kunoichi caught sight of Chouji glaring at her in intervals. She sighed, massaging her neck and cursing at everything within sight. A queer sort of silence enveloped them, the one that usually hid something uncanny behind the absence of noises. Shikamaru and Chouji didn't sense anything wrong but Ino, being more wary than usual, noted with suspicion of a foreign scent wafting through the air. _There's definitely something wrong with this forest..._

Shikamaru's head suddenly snapped up and the two genins scampered towards Ino, dragging her behind a thick bush. When she was about to yell (what else?) at Shikamaru for practically hauling her away, the kunoichi was effectively silenced by a hand clamped onto her mouth. Chouji grinned with smug satisfaction. "Shika saw that whitish-eyed-last-year-top-rookie-better-than-Sasuke guy scouting this area. We better hide."

Ino didn't know whether to congratulate Chouji for successfully completing a whole sentence without a bag of potato chips shoved down his throat for the first time or strangle the boy then and there. Decided on neither, she contented herself by slapping Chouji's chip-smelled hand off her face and death-glared him. Shikamaru was nearby, hiding behind another clutter of bushes as he listened in apt attention for any incoming footsteps. Ino wanted to point out that with that freaky Byakugan, Neji would be able to see them after all, no matter where they were but she later contemplated that Shikamaru was the genius rookie there, so she just kept her mouth firmly shut.

Ino, apart from growing stronger, had also grown wiser.

Another wave of unknown tremor swept through her senses again and this had nothing to do with the fact that Chouji had begun eating again, despite the lines of strain around the boy's piggy-like eyes at the prospect of fighting last year top rookie. The blonde kunoichi blinked irritably; they were so not going to get any scroll if they continued to hide like this everytime someone came along! Surely three genins can take out a Hyuuga, that's just relevant. _It's not like he can spin around and deflect our attacks at the same time_, she scoffed cattily. Ino rubbed a thumb along the bridge of his nose and waited with fervour until the so-called genius in her team decided that it was okay to come out of hiding. But then, something else caught her attention.

The unmistakably faint sound of a battle.

_Someone's fighting..._Ino craned her neck towards the suspected source of the battle, her eyes narrowing at the thought of her team and their endless plight of searching for a team weaker than them. And that did a tremendous job in pissing Ino off. She grabbed a handful of Chouji's scarf, yanking the boy closer to her. "Let's get going. I wanna check out something."

"But, Shika said--"

"To hell with what that lazybone said," she hissed vehemently. "You go first, that direction and leave Shikamaru to me."

Chouji had an expression akin to a cornered giant panda etched onto his red face as he nodded hesitantly and moved in a close resemblance of a reluctant slug following Ino's pointing finger. After all, he had long learnt the fact that it was best not to argue with the female population that dominated Konoha if he values his fat life above anything else. The kunoichi frowned in mild approval, before closing in to her next victim, Shikamaru, who was on a lookout for Neji, and was oblivious of the immaculate danger hovering behind him. She raised a hand and with enough force to knock out a full-grown giraffe, slapped the back of poor Shikamaru's head. The lad almost screamed out in pain if it wasn't for his admirable self-control.

"What was that for?!" he demanded, furiously rubbing the bump that had cheerily materialized as a result of the slap.

Ino huffed and proceeded on more eyes-narrowing activity that, for an unknown reason, she had found severely efficient in scaring, or intimidating others into doing her own bidding. "We're moving out. Get off your lazy ass and follow me."

Shikamaru was about to object but upon noticing the rabid gleam dancing in Ino's eyes, he murmured out his consent and sauntered in obvious aversion after the kunoichi. Ino, satisfied that her teammates were actually (forced to) listening to her, wordlessly herded Shikamaru. Chouji was waiting for them under an exceptionally huge tree, munching on another packet of chips, much to Ino's annoyance. After refraining herself from inflicting upon the innocent Chouji a gut-wrenching yell, she told them about the battle that she had sensed before and her suggestion that they should go watch, and if needed, offer help if one of the fighting team was from the Leaf. After she had finished, Shikamaru was looking at her incredulously, whilst Chouji had opted for staying quiet and neutral.

"Since when did you have all this village-comradeship feeling, anyway?" he questioned smugly, bravely flicking off a death glare directed at him.

Giving her head a toss, Ino snapped, "I don't. I'm just curious."

Shikamaru sighed wearily. "Don't go poking your nose or any of your body part where they're not wanted. You'll get us into trouble and that is just so troublesome."

"Hear, hear," Chouji grunted from somewhere aside.

The kunoichi inhaled deeply and switched into a softer approach, gleefully noting that Shikamaru had begun twitching. "But I just wanna know who's fighting." Here, she paused and pouted. "And I promise if they're someone we don't know, we'll go quietly. Please?"

After several agonizingly torturous seconds, "You promise?" Shikamaru grudgingly admitted defeat, his shoulder sagging under unspeakable burden.

Ino beamed and nodded, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Seizing Chouji by the scruff of his shirt, she defiantly dragged the poor boy towards... somewhere, Shikamaru tagging along with the expression of someone who was intent on facing his doom.

1010101

The scene that greeted Team Ten was something almost similar to an extract from one of Ino's rare nightmares. Except that it was worse. They had carefully sneaked towards the supposedly battlefield, inching their way with perfected stealth that they had acquired after countless experience of hiding from Asuma-sensei's heavenly wrath. Chouji was the first one to advance forward and his job was to find an ideal hiding place for the rest of the team to comfortably watch the battle without being seen. But he had scampered back to an impatient Ino and an annoyed Shikamaru at the very moment he saw who was fighting, clutching at his scarf with a look that was equivalent to a hybrid of excitement, horror and (funnily) grief.

"Ino, you wouldn't believe--"

Chouji's smug attempt to excite his two team mates ended abruptly when the said kunoichi frowned and snapped at him. "Stop dishing out crap. Tell us who's fighting."

Strangely unruffled by the dangerously low undertone of Ino's voice, Chouji turned to Shikamaru and started on a pitiful journey of self-ranting. All that Ino could make out from the words that poured out like uncontained water was, "Sakura... fighting... Sasuke... Naruto... unconscious... swirling purplish thingy... bandage... sound..." etcetera, etcetera and was concluded by a triumphant, "... haircut!"

Ino's brain automatically reverted to a more understandable version of Chouji's rambling and it ran on something like this; _Sakura is fighting Sasuke. Naruto is unconscious with a swirling purplish thingy. He was bandaged and was making sound about a haircut._ Thinking it back, the blonde kunoichi groaned in agony under sudden mental stress and turned to the still-composed Shikamaru for help. Chouji was panting, his face red with unmistakable excitement and Ino could probably swear that she had never, _ever_ saw the usually-food-absorbed Chouji looking that excited. Shikamaru was stroking his chin thoughtfully; the wheels and gears in his head were grinding away, trying to translate Chouji's hardly-making-any-sense statement into actual human language.

After a brief silence, the genius smiled vaguely and looked up at the waiting Ino and the panting Chouji. "Sakura is fighting the Sound nins. Sasuke and Naruto are unconscious and Sasuke had something similar to a seal on him. Oh, and Sakura hair had been cut by someone, or maybe herself."

Chouji made a strangulated noise that ranged from an agreement to pure fascination.

Sometimes, Ino wondered how exactly did Shikamaru's brain work. Maybe it was the whole lot about being a genius that made him beyond understanding. But upon reflecting the translated version of Chouji's account on what was happening, her senses were on instant alert. _Sakura's fighting! And Naruto... what was it about him being unconscious?! _She pushed herself forward, the worries she had earlier doubling in amount and seemed to have magnified under such situation. Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged grim stares but both did nothing to hold Ino back; they knew that she was extremely anxious and nothing could possibly stop her from heading towards Naruto, especially after knowing that he might be hurt. And so, they trudged wearily behind the blonde kunoichi.

1010101

Ino had once thought of Sakura as her best friend, when she had helped the pink-haired girl out of her shell of low self-esteem and befriended her. Out came the cool Sasuke and both Sakura and her became foolishly infatuated with the Uchiha, costing them their new-founded friendship. Since then, the blonde had looked back to those times and viciously cursed any lingering memories of Sakura as the most fatal flaw in life that she had ever done. Their rivalry was by no means heated up when Sakura was announced as the team mate of Sasuke. Ino often, no, _endlessly_ thought that she hated Sakura. Maybe even arriving at the point of loathing the other girl. And then, unexpectedly, Naruto came crashing into her wallowing stupor of self-pity.

Ino had never been so grateful towards Fate for that.

But now, watching a bruised, bloody and beaten Sakura struggling to defend her unconscious team mates from the bandaged-head weirdo and his troublesome gang, something inside Ino softened towards the pink-haired kunoichi. Naruto often fretted on how they (Sasuke and him) always have to save Sakura here and then, and thus, Ino had an image of a flimsy Sakura imprinted firmly inside her head. So, she did acknowledged the pinky's brainpower but that was all. Her fingers curled into fists as she eyed the ragged tresses of pink hair and the crimson liquid smearing Sakura's usually smooth skin. Her eyes narrowed as the Sound girl laughed at Sakura as she desperately fought the spiky-headed boy.

Then, her eyes fell on Naruto.

_What the hell happened to him?!_

She heard someone yelling out in fury and discovered, to her utmost horror, that that someone was her. Realizing that it was impossible to be kept hidden anymore, Ino grabbed Chouji's scarf and launched towards the battlefield, skidded to a halt in front of Sakura. Chouji, thanks to his loyal scarf, was dragged into this as well but Shikamaru proved to be a real gentleman when he followed them in undiluted conscience, though Ino heard him muttering something that suspiciously sounded like 'So troublesome...' under his breath once he was within earshot. Relishing on the astonished look on Sakura's bloody face and on the faces of the Sound nins, Ino detached herself from Chouji's scarf and determinedly glared at the three genins before them.

"Ino?" the pink-haired kunoichi blinked, wiping away the trace of fresh blood from the side of her face as she stared in disbelief at her rival's back.

Ino glanced over her shoulder and grinned down at her eternal ex-rival. "I've come to save your butt, Sakura. How about that?"

Chouji choose that very moment to squawk out in indignation. "But Ino, I don't wanna fight!"

The spiky-headed Sound nin coincidentally chooses that very moment too to display alarmingly high rate of sheer stupidity, leering at Chouji. "Fat boy, don't fight if you're afraid of getting your fat ass kicked."

Which of course resulted in both making Chouji indisputably incensed and dangerously unstable at the very mentioning of the taboo word, 'fat'. Eyes blazing with inner fire, he bellowed at the Sound boy. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING FAT?!"

Shikamaru slapped his own forehead in mortification.

"Of course I'm calling you 'fat', fat boy," spike-head promptly retorted, looking so pleased with himself that he completely missed the dismayed glares he was receiving from his two team mates. "Or did the excessive fat had gotten into your ears as well?"

_Well, at least now Chouji's ready to fight,_ Ino contemplated darkly, glad that she didn't have to carry out her first idea of motivating Chouji by bribing the chubby boy with promises of food if they managed to get out from this forest alive. She was still standing guard in front of Sakura and the two unconscious boys, chewing thoughtfully on her bottom lip. Shikamaru was eyeing her warily, while Chouji was hyperventilating in a safe distance from them. Ino silently appraised their opponents, the first step that had been dutifully thought by their perpetually-chewing-on-a-cigarette sensei; _that bandage-head seemed to be the leader so he must be the strongest. Guess the second one's spike head and so that leaves that Sound girl to be the weakest. Should attack her first..._

Ino was about to signal for both Shikamaru and Chouji to begin on their long rehearsed group strategy but it seemed that Mr. Spike Head from Sound had successfully degraded himself to be the official pain in the ass. Stretching his arms out, to which Ino blanched in distaste at the holes on his palms, he sneered and said, "It looks like you'd chosen a bad time to be nosey, Leaf brats. One attack is enough to wipe all of you off, I guess." Before Ino could fully understand what he was saying, the said boy directed his holed hands towards them and yelled, "Ultimate Zankuuha!"

A humongous blast of air roared towards them and as Ino was ready to spring aside; like Shikamaru and Chouji had done once they saw the incoming air-cutter, her subconscious mind screamed something about a severely injured Sakura and two half-dead genins behind her. _Oh yeah. Them._ In a split second, as she stole a glance at Sakura, who was vainly trying to stagger up and the boys, her feet unwillingly froze on the spot. Acting solely on impulse, her fingers moved into a set of hand seals that she had come to get accustomed to and slammed her palms flat onto the ground as the air blast rapidly approached them, straining not to get distracted by the fact that if she failed the jutsu this time, it could result in a very painful and humiliating deaths.

"Hoshi Heki no Jutsu!" (Star Barrier)

Ino narrowed her eyes and defiantly channelled her chakra towards the five points on the ground, confident that her shield would be able to dispel the wind, though she had to use extra load of chakra due to the increased perimeter to protect. The kunoichi was distantly aware of the combined shout from Shikamaru and Chouji, but she did hear a small whimper from behind her, presumably from Sakura. _I have to save them. I have to save Naruto!_ Turning her attention once again to her created shield, Ino gritted her teeth when the air blast finally crashed into her defence, forcing massive impact against her. To Ino's vexation, she was slowly beginning to suffer from the impact, feeling that her shield had steadily wavered under the blast.

_Oh shit! Concentrate, Ino, you can do this! Just a bit longer! _The blonde kunoichi practically willed everything she had to stubbornly maintain the flow of chakra for her shield, eyes set with grim determination. The impact gradually subsided, in what it felt like a long stretch of time for Ino. Amidst the flying dust and dirt, she was granted the opportunity to smirk in victorious gloating at the slack-jawed spike head, who was ogling at her from the distant. _Heh, guess your ego just went down the drain, roosterhead. Now, for the finishing act!_ Pulling together the invisible strings of chakra that secured her control over the Star Barrier, Ino released the jutsu with practised ease, her hands moving in a graceful arc as she forced the shield forward.

The Sound genin, blinking at what he sensed to be nothing but thin air, was completely taken by surprise when he was suddenly jerked off his feet and was sent flying into the awaiting trees like a rag doll, followed by his shocked curse resounding shrilly in the air. His team mates, who were just a few seconds ago staring with little interest at Ino, snapped at the direction of their mysteriously thrown team mate before shifting their attention to the slightly panting Ino. She grinned and waved a hand at them, trying to catch her breath after the tedious ordeal of maintaining the jutsu. Sakura was staring agape at the blonde, her eyes wide with confusion and seemingly oblivious of the presence of others.

Shikamaru was the first one to spoke out, in a tone varying from sheer curiosity to morbidly impressed. "You've never told us about that jutsu."

"Too busy," Ino choked out, tidying up her ponytail. She dusted her pants and turned to Sakura. "Can you look after those two? We'll try to distract them until Mr. Genius here," she grinned at Shikamaru, "find a plan or something to defeat them."

After a second of awkward hesitation, the pink-haired kunoichi nodded. She inched towards the two unconscious genins and sat heavily down besides Sasuke, who still had that wraith-like purplish aura floating over him. Sakura looked like she wanted to ask Ino something but had wisely refrained herself from doing so at their current position. Stealing a last glance at Naruto, Ino sighed and returned to the brief strategy meeting of her team. Before neither of them could do anything, a deafening roar shook the forest, much to their unspoken dismay. The spike-head, who had been blown off by the invisible wall created by the Star Barrier had somehow managed to stay conscious and was wrecking havoc to the nature, generally.

"WHERE'S THAT FUCKING BITCH?!" he hollered quite shamelessly, a wild look in his eyes as he trampled towards them like an epileptic orang-utan, arms outstretched. His team mates didn't appear to enjoy this embarrassing change to their supposedly cool bad guys demeanour and could be seen frowning darkly at the everything within range. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING TEAR YOU FROM LIMB TO LIMB, YOU STUPID BLONDE BIMBO!"

"Zaku," Bandage Head silently addressed his out-of-control partner-in-crime and fixed the spiky-headed genin with a stern gaze. "Remember our mission. We're here to kill Uchiha, not to have a go on everyone."

Spike Head, or now known as Zaku groaned and dropped his hands to his side. He glared with obvious repugnance at the clustered Konoha nins, swearing and muttering a few well-chosen obscenities that would've made any mother scream in proper indignation if they ever heard him. He stared at the weird existence of his agonizingly bandaged friend and bleated on, "But they're protecting the Uchiha, Dosu, so we have to take care of the lot of them before we can even lay a finger on Uchiha."

"Zaku's right," the Sound girl chimed in. "Besides, Orochimaru-sama did tell us to have some fun."

By now, Team Ten had been staring at the exchanges of snaps and retorts among the Sound nin with incomprehensible expression etched onto their faces. Ino wasn't actually sure if they should take that opportunity to get the hell out of there or stay and fight their guts out. Discouraged by the sheer indignity of fleeing (and that she felt like she had a score to settle with Zaku after the lad had blatantly called her a stupid blonde bimbo), the kunoichi resorted on hovering over the still-unconscious Naruto like a rabid mother panda protecting its newborn baby. Shikamaru yawned and rolled his eyes heavenward as he watched the _interesting_ display of human vacuum cleaner inhaling packets after packets of chips.

Sakura was currently tending on Sasuke, her face smudged by either crusty blood or dirt. She tilted her head and stared at Ino. "Maybe we should go. Who knows what those Sound guys will do--"

As if perfectly on cue with Sakura's half-hearted statement, Zaku suddenly howled in triumphant peal of laughter and squinted evilly at the Konoha genins, both conscious and unconscious. Dosu and the Sound girl were standing smugly behind the overjoyed nin. He cracked his knuckles and said, "Time to play. Which of you will go first?"

"Give me your worse, asshole," Ino snorted, falling into her fighting stance. Shikamaru and Chouji nodded at each other and swiftly occupied either side from Ino.

Whether it was a deliberate attempt to further suggest to everybody that he was an incurable moron or that he really was moronically idiotic in the first place, Zaku laughed the rookie version of a proper 'bad guy bad laughter' trademark laugh and prepared his all-to-familiar attack. A malicious grin was playing on his lips as another burst of air, this one being a normal Zankuuha blasted towards Team Ten. They scattered from the path of the air-cutter, only to meet with the members from the Sound team. Ino, much to her disappointment, was supposed to fight the Sound girl. To her right, Chouji had already confronted Zaku while Dosu was left to deal with Shikamaru. Apparently, they preferred one-on-one match.

"Your hair looks nicer than that pinky's," the Sound girl smirked, metal needles gleaming among her fingers. "Seems like all Konoha genins use their time grooming instead of practising."

Ino snorted and started on her own verbal assault. "Oh please! Why don't you help me save some time and kill yourself? I'm sure you'll be doing everyone a huge favour."

The response to that was the whizzing sound of needles aimed towards Ino's head, the other girl consistently drawing out more needles and showered the blonde kunoichi with deadly hail of sharp needles. Ino evaded them all, her eyes watching her opponent keenly, waiting for a slip so that she could move in for an attack. Somewhere to her left, she spotted something that resembled a giant clothed meatball propelling itself at Zaku and mentally snickered at the panic displayed on the Sound genin's face. _Let's see how he deals with that!_ Her eyes averted to Shikamaru and a perplexed Dosu, copying some kind of idiotic gestures that the pony-tailed boy was doing. Their shadows were connected and Dosu looked so frustrated that Ino felt like guffawing.

She was about to do just that, if it wasn't for one particular needle that barely grazed her cheek. Ino blinked and retreated to a side, a sharp twinge of pain flashed abruptly on her face. She flicked her attention to the Sound girl and upon noticing that there was a weak spot as the girl twisted in mid-air, launched herself forward with drawn kunai. The other girl gasped and reflexively shielded her face with both arms, inconveniently covering her eyes at the same time. Ino grinned, pocketed the kunai back in a flash and ducked to the girl's blind spot. The blonde swiftly delivered a hand knife to the back of the Sound kunoichi's neck, rendering her unconscious before Ino landed with a peculiar limp on a branch, whereas the girl dropped in a dusty heap on the hard ground.

"Kin!" Zaku snapped at the sight of the motionless girl, dodging the flying meatball as he rushed to her side.

Ino whipped out a bunch of kunai when Zaku kneeled and checked Kin's pulse, hurling them towards the two at the given opportunity. The spike-headed Sound jerked his head up, noticed the kunai and jumped aside just in time to see Ino leaped from the branch and was reunited with the giant meatball, which proved to be a red-faced Chouji.

"I don't think I can keep up the Meat Tank anymore, Ino," the chubby boy panted heavily, wiping his sweaty brows. "And Shika's having trouble with that other guy."

Frowning, she had just opened her mouth to say something when Shikamaru suddenly blurred in existence besides her. He was glaring at Dosu, before turning to Ino. "Why didn't you finish that spike-head when you had the chance?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened when Ino said nothing but looked over her shoulder, wincing as her fingers closed on something sticking out of her back. She quickly pulled out one of Kin's needle as she held her breath and used another hand to press the bleeding puncture, tossing the needle aside. She grinned at Shikamaru, despite the obvious pain painted on her face. Chouji was looking genuinely concerned for once. "Sorry. I just got distracted when I was fighting that Sound girl."

Ino grimly glanced at Naruto, mentally chastising herself for being careless. _Naruto will never forgive me if he knew. He'd reminded me more than once to be careful. _Sakura was eyeing them, slightly more alarmed when she saw the blood covered needle lying near Ino's feet and the weak trembles on the blonde's hand that was used to cover the wound. She stared in despair at Zaku and Dosu, who were bending over the motionless figure of Kin, talking to each other in low whispers. Ino realized that Chouji wouldn't be able to use Meat Tank no Jutsu again and Shikamaru had just released his own Kagemane on Dosu. Though she had knocked out the Sound girl, it counted next to nothing because as she had expected earlier, that girl was the weakest of those three.

"What do we do now?" Chouji asked, staring repeatedly at Ino and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think Ino is able to continue fighting." He nodded dismally at the blonde kunoichi. "Are you sure you can still stand?"

"Of course I can," she snapped, pressing harder on the puncture to stop the blood from continuously leaking out. "I can still fight, you know."

"You can't," her pony-tailed team mate admonished, glaring at her, all trace of his usual laziness evaporated into thin air.

"Don't be an idiot, Shika! I can still--"

Their argument was cut short when Chouji interjected with a gasp and pointed at Zaku, who was preparing on yet another Zankuuha. The spike-headed Sound genin blasted another round of his (by now) infamous air-cutter and Team Ten scattered again, though Shikamaru had thoughtfully stayed by Ino's side and awkwardly wrapped an arm around the kunoichi's shoulder as she staggered from the blow. Ino inhaled deeply, whispered her thanks to Shikamaru before squirming uneasily out of his grasp. She leaped away from him and went down on her knees, cursing as she felt the blood gushing out of her wound at even the slightest movement. She was about to rip off the bandages of her clothes when she was made aware of the presence of a shadow looming above her.

Ino tilted her head upwards and was greeted by the grinning face of Zaku. His hands were outstretched until they were hovering inches from her face and then said, in a tone that promised pain and more pain, "What you did to Kin, I'll repay it ten times worse, _bitch._"

She was vaguely aware of Shikamaru's frustrated shout as Dosu cornered Chouji and him, her eyes widening as Naruto's words came ringing inside her head;

"_The Chuunin exam allows killing, and that means something," the genin snapped, his blue eyes blazing angrily at Ino. "I don't want you to hand your neck to those genins from other hidden villages just because you think that they won't kill you."  
_

She had been foolish. She had been hasty. She had been overconfident. _Naruto was right. _Ino felt like crying but instead, she looked up in all the courage she could muster at those holed hands and vindictive eyes glaring down at her. _I'm sorry, Naruto. I really wanted to protect you. _She could almost _hear_ the air molecules vibrating around the holes, pulsating impatiently and would be smashing against her skull in several seconds. The wound caused by Kin's needle was throbbing painfully at her back, as though mocking her for the mistakes that she had done. Shikamaru was yelling again and Ino grimly chuckled as she whispered for him to shut up. Zaku was about to release the Zankuuha and Ino had almost closed her eyes when the expression on his face caught her attention. He had halted and was staring at something beyond them.

Something, or more accurately, someone.

Ino blinked and with an effort, turned her head at the same direction.

There was Sakura, emerald eyes brimming with unshed tears, the unconscious Naruto, her eyes softened and... and Sasuke. _Sasuke? What's wrong with him?!_

Sasuke was standing before Sakura, weird purple tattoos marring his pale skin and purplish chakra swirling eerily around him as his Sharingan eyes glared coldly at the Sound genins, quite unlike half a minute ago when he was lying immobile besides the pink-haired kunoichi. His hands, tattooed with the same odd pattern that covered his whole exposed flesh, was twitching subtly and his lips quirked into a malicious grin as he continued on freaking everyone out with those purple chakra that looked like wispy apparition. Zaku and Dosu exchanged wary looks, as confused with the situation as the rest of the Leaf genins. Sakura looked like she was about to faint out of horror while Shikamaru and Chouji gaped from the sideline.

Then, with a tone that suggested nothing but plain malevolent, Sasuke demanded, "Who did that to you, Sakura. Who?"

And again, Zaku proved himself to be a complete idiot.

TBC

Gomen for the late update! Ah, you guys had been waiting for almost two weeks now. I'm still in the middle of an examination, but I sneaked in and out to write this story so yeah, it's kinda late. But hey! At least I've updated! Right? Right? And anyways, these Forest of Death scenes are really driving me up the wall. So many fighting and I'm no good in writing fight scenes. -sigh-

This chappie is... totally messed up. Darn it! I dunno why but I kept making fun of everything, especially poor little Zaku. I made him look like a jerk (which in my opinion he is) so forgives me if you find that disturbing or plain annoying. Do tell, na? You can always blame me but you have to know that this is all the fault of a really, truly funny fic I've found out a few days earlier. So blame that fic author! I'm thoroughly obsessed with her works!

Reviews! Reviews! The bestest thing after ice cream and potato chips!

Thermopyle: Your nick is really complicated... Anyway, yes, Sasuke do know bout Naru being the vessel of Kyuubi, somewhere along the line when they fought Zabuza and Haku.

Frank Cadena: Ah yo! It's already the twelfth installation and you're still at the tenth! Cadena-san, hurry and pick up the pace!

Skuld's Sentaro: -blush- You don't need to compliment that much... I'm going to get a swollen head (and brain) these days if things like this continue. The pairings, hm... maybe it'll work. Argh! I dunno!

Keltosh: -pout- Ne, am I that evil? Am I? Am I?

refused: Reviews from refused-san always makes Kaara happy and when Kaara happy, Kaara likes to glomp on refused-san! -glomps- Pairing? It'll eventually be a NaruIno, I guess... and maybe a lil peek into something else... I dunno yet.

blazer6: Now, now, calm down... -offer cookies- Sasuke knew bout Kyuubi and all that when they fought Zabuza and the dear androgynous Haku. Naruto saved him, right? Something like that and Sasu knew. So there!

BigAznDaddy: Is it? Well, I've read fanfics that refers to the Legendary Three as sennins, that's why I used it. And nobody else seems to say anything bout it so I don't know... Maybe you're right.

Ice Dragon XXI: People rarely understand me anyway so yeah, making my fic to be a totally crazy piece of an artwork is very, very tempting to my deranged mind. And your advice... -melts into goo- Thankies, sooo much!

yourbonesakin: Anou... their relationship is not exactly father/son, as you have put it. It's more towards... a twisted kind of fondness. I don't really know how to explain it but calling Kyuubi-chan is kinda cute. And maybe a bit girlish. -laughs-

And others: Gopu and Night-Owl123, thanks you so much for your reviews!

Alas, the insanity will have to stop for now.

Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!

Kaara


	13. Chuunin Exam Second Part IV

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

Summary so far: Sasuke and the cursed seal had awoken! -cue in cheap horror orchestra music- Ino and Team Ten had come in and managed to stall some time until Sasuke finally woke up and started running amok through the Sound genins, especially dear Zaku.

Minna, I'm back!!!

Miss me?

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

(----------) : change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

Chapter Thirteen: Chuunin Exam Second Part IV

"Sakura, what the hell is wrong with Sasuke?!"

Ino winced as she made her way towards the petrified pink-haired kunoichi. Shikamaru and Chouji were watching in morbid fascination from aside as Sasuke continued on attack after attack in unnatural speed and strength, practically kicking (and jutsu-ing) the living daylight out of Zaku. The spike-headed Sound nin was indeed in a really bad shape, his scream of agony rang throughout the forest when Sasuke twisted his hands to his back, grinning maliciously and added more pressure, until eventually, a bone-chilling crack resounded amongst Zaku's tortured screams. Dosu, his remaining conscious teammate, was staring helplessly at his friend. Ino's eyes widened and she paled, oblivious that Sakura too had copied the same response.

"Sakura," Ino hastily turned to her ex-rival, echoing her earlier question. "What's wrong with Sasuke? What's with that weird tattoo?!"

The other kunoichi flinched. "It's… it's Orochimaru's seal."

"Orochimaru?!" Ino gaped in disbelief, her fingers clenched into fists. "One of the Sannin?"

"Yes. He… I don't know why but," Sakura swallowed and averted her eyes from the rampaging Sasuke, latching them at Ino instead. "Naruto fought him, but lose. Then Orochimaru… he…"

Sakura shuddered and abandoned her explanation halfway, apparently too disgusted to try and recall that particular piece of disturbing memory. She regarded Ino with obvious desperation, as if seeking for little comfort that the blonde kunoichi could possibly offer. Ino sighed. "We have to stop Sasuke. He didn't look… fine," she was tempted to say 'sane' but held back the word in time. She glanced at the battlefield but immediately looked away as Sasuke continued on pounding Zaku to near death, the malicious grin firmly etched onto the boy's feature.

"But how?" Sakura promptly retorted, her fingernails digging into Ino's arm.

Ino gritted her teeth and bitterly admitted, "I don't know."

(----------)

Amongst the dark masses of green leaves, three pairs of eyes were watching the scene below, following every moves, every twist of muscles between the two fighting genins. The Sun genins were crouching on a high branch, at the sideline of the clearing where they could easily monitor the fight that had ensued between the Leaf genins and the Sound genins. Those eyes eventually locked on the unconscious form of Naruto and the crimson ones hardened, the leaves camouflaging them bristled with the imminent aura of suppressed fury. Sensing her companion's anger, Raiu placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder. No words were exchanged but when the green-haired genin finally withdrew her hand, the tension earlier had fairly dissipated.

"Shakaku, what should we do now?" Raiu ventured on, her eyes trailed from Naruto to the older girl besides her.

The redhead brushed away a few loose strands of red hair and replied, "Akki-sama reminded us not to make a move without further instruction. We may attract unwanted attention."

Their silver-haired teammate shifted silently and regarded the other two, his silver orbs flashing from unmistakable contempt. "That boy has bloodlust in his eyes. I may not be more than a genin but trust me, Shakaku; he might even attack his own teammates after he finishes with that Sound nin. That includes Naruto-sama too."

"I've noticed that," her brows knitted into a dark frown. "Naruto is in no position to defend himself and I doubt any of those Leaf nins could do anything to the boy in his berserker state."

"What do you say now, _leader_?" Raiu impatiently retorted, her fingers lightly brushing the gleaming scabbard of her kodachi. "To fight, or not to fight?"

Shakaku narrowed her eyes at the green-haired girl, who grinned sheepishly in retaliation. After a few seconds of silence (except the intervals screams and explosions from below), the redhead slowly nodded and turned to his waiting companions. "Raiu, create enough diversion among those two to steal some time. Ryuujin, I want you to use the strongest seal that you know on the raven-haired boy. Might as well knock him unconscious first."

"What about the Sound nins?"

"I don't think they'll mind us interrupting at all," the redhead lowered her hand, reaching for her pouch. She slipped out some kunai, nodded at her teammates and hurled those kunai towards Sasuke and Zaku in a flash. "Now!"

(----------)

Ino was about to open her mouth and asked Sakura if she happened to have any extra bandages or not when the sound of something sharp cutting through the air towards the battlefield distracted her. Both kunoichi snapped their heads in unison towards Sasuke, who had retreated safely from the assault of the mysterious bunch of kunai and was glaring murderously at everyone in general. Dosu was helping Zaku up, the spike-headed Sound cradling his broken arm as his face twisted in pain and confusion. Standing in the middle of the clearing was a green-clad girl, warily eyeing Sasuke as she fell into her fighting stance. The raven-haired Uchiha narrowed his eyes and the smirk on his face widened at the sudden interruption.

"Are you a Sound nin too?" Sasuke sneered, his fingers twitching.

The girl merely grinned. "Nope. Wouldn't be caught dead being one."

The twitching continued as Sasuke prepared to attack the newcomer, who had raised both hands in a defensive stance and was waiting with a flicker of misplaced excitement in her emerald eyes. Ino watched the scene with increasing dread and exasperation. _Sasuke… if only Naruto's awake, he might've known what to do right now… _She turned to the blonde and was greeted by the sight of a tall redhead kneeling besides Naruto, running a hand gently over the genin's face. Ino narrowed her eyes and despite the dull throbbing of pain from her back, she heaved herself up and stomped towards Naruto. She had almost lost to the Sound nin earlier, and though the blonde kunoichi didn't have the faintest idea who these mysterious people were, she could hardly care about that.

_No one mess with Naruto while I'm around!_

Before she could ask what the hell was the redhead doing to Naruto, Ino caught sight of Sasuke, rooted to the ground with an expression of unpleasant shock etched onto his face. She arched an eyebrow as the raven-haired boy strained forward, succeeded in moving nowhere. The process was repeated several times and Ino could see veins popping up on Sasuke's skin, an omen of promised destruction. The green-haired girl had relaxed visibly and was grinning at the incensed Sasuke. Ino still couldn't understand why Sasuke had failed to lift a foot; that was until the said Uchiha snapped his head towards another figure, standing resolutely about ten metres away from them, slender fingers barely touching the ground.

"What'd you do to me?" Sasuke snarled, his fingers clenching and unclenching in rapid succession, eyes blazing with anger.

The green-haired girl smirked and sauntered closer. "You might hurt yourself and others. Sleep well, ne?" She mirrored Ino's hand knife that she had used against Kin earlier on Sasuke and gingerly supported him when the raven-haired genin slumped over. The purple tattoo receded slowly and she nodded at Sakura, signalling her to take Sasuke. The pink-haired kunoichi scampered up; tending to the unconscious but by then tattoo-free Sasuke, though her eyes kept darting at their unknown saviours.

_This is getting weirder and weirder. Who the hell are these people?! _Ino shook her head, clearing her mind from the brief reverie and proceeded on towards the redhead. As she arrived behind the other kunoichi, the redhead tilted her head as if she had long sensed Ino's presence and smiled, gesturing at Naruto. "He'll be fine."

"Who're you?" the blonde kunoichi abruptly spat out, kneeling too so that their eyes were levelled.

The redhead pointed a thumb at her forehead protector. "Sun genin. My friends and I happen to go pass through this area and we thought that you might need some help."

Ino brushed aside all formal and polite manners that she ever possessed and pelted out another question, curiosity painted on her face. "Sun? I've never heard of any Hidden Sun before."

"We prefer to stay low," was the only answer that she got as the redhead dusted the back of her pants and moved towards her two teammates. Ino blinked and glanced at Naruto, examining his wounds to make sure that the redhead had done nothing to further aggravate the blonde's situation. To her relief, nothing damaging could be spotted.

Meanwhile, Dosu had shouldered the unconscious Kin and put one hand around Zaku (who was _still_ howling with pain) with much difficulty, announcing their defeat with as much dignity as someone who had just got their ass thoroughly kicked. The bandage-head grudgingly surrendered their Earth Scroll before retreating into the safety of the forest, presumably going to find two other groups and thrashed about for scrolls, having lost their battle with the Leaf nins. Ino heaved a sigh as the Sound disappeared from view, relieved that it would be some time before they would cross path again. She sauntered over to where the other genins were crowded around Sakura and Sasuke, the no-one-knows-about Sun genins conversing in a low tone while Shikamaru and Chouji repeatedly poked the motionless Sasuke, much to Sakura's outspoken annoyance.

"He's not some kind of three-headed monster, guys," the pink-haired kunoichi growled, swatting away the offending hands from her Sasuke-kun. "Stop that!"

Shikamaru snorted and being the genius that he was, retorted quite crudely, "Yeah, he's just a _harmless_ guy that went berserk for fun and almost killed everybody."

Sakura reprimanded, all faith set on clearing Sasuke from any form of accusation or blame, "But it's the fault of that stupid seal!"

Ino glared at Shikamaru and Chouji before kneeling and said, to Sakura, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think," there was doubt in the pink-haired kunoichi's eyes but she pursed on her lips and looked down at the unconscious Uchiha. Sakura smiled and tilted her head towards Ino. "How's Naruto?"

"Still sleeping," the blonde nonchalantly shrugged. "It'll take more than a stampede of wild buffalos to wake him up right now."

Shikamaru tapped lightly on Ino's shoulder and regarded her with obvious concern. "Are _you_ okay? That needle—"

"I'm fine," Ino curtly interjected; though a fresh wave of throbs effectively reminded her of the puncture from Kin's needle. Her fingers instinctively closed on the wound and she bit on her bottom lip, holding back a groan.

That particular act didn't go unnoticed by the other genins.

"You don't look like you're fine," Chouji stated matter-of-factly, munching on a new (god-know-where-it-was-hidden) packet of chips.

"I couldn't have agreed more," the voice snapped the Konoha genins into Alert Mode, as the redhead Ino had seen examining Naruto earlier appeared suddenly behind her. She regarded the blonde kunoichi thoughtfully, ruby eyes glittering. "You might want to check that wound before it can get any worse."

Ino frowned and made an attempt to scuttle away from the redhead. "Mind your own business."

"I'm Shakaku, by the way," she continued on, apparently oblivious of the suspicion portrayed evidently on the faces around her. Glancing over her shoulder to her two teammates, she said, "That's Raiu and Ryuujin. I'll ask Ryuu to disinfect the wound if you don't mind."

Before Ino could snap and told the redhead to take her concern and shove it where the sun doesn't shine, Shikamaru silenced her with a look and said, "If you're here for the scroll—"

"No," the redhead chuckled and brandished two scrolls from her backpack, before stuffing them back in. "We've already got them. Just here to help. What do you say, Leaf?"

The silver-haired genin proved to be a skilful medic nin, as he carefully applied some sort of a cream onto the puncture, before wrapping the whole section with a fresh roll of bandages. Ino couldn't help but notice that the genin was eyeing her through the whole process and she was immediately conscious of blood rushing towards her face, partly from embarrassment and partly from anger. After securing the end of the bandage with a metal clip, the silver-haired genin withdrew and nodded at her, a small smile adorning the pale face.

"Thanks," the blonde kunoichi muttered out and scrambled to Naruto's side almost instantly, face flushed prettily. "You should check on Sakura too, she's bleeding quite heavily."

Raiu was standing besides Shikamaru and Chouji, with the latter ogling at Ryuujin like he was a giant teriyaki. The green-haired girl grinned mischievously and leaned closer to Chouji, whispering, "Ryuu-chan's kinda good-looking, eh?"

Shikamaru squirmed uneasily but the chubby boy obliviously nodded at the question.

"He's a really beautiful guy, you know," Raiu prodded on, and promptly burst into a fit of laughter when Chouji's eyes widened at the sudden revelation.

"That's… that's not a girl?!"

The green-haired genin shook her head but stopped laughing upon realizing that the object of their conversation was death-glaring her. Approximately two nanoseconds later, she hooted with uncontrollable laughter again, tears streaming down both sides of her face. Shikamaru grabbed Chouji and pulled him to a safe distance from the laughing Raiu, the chubby boy gaping like a fish that had just jumped out of a pond, and into a waiting frying pan. Shakaku smiled in amusement and gave Raiu a warning glance, to which the other girl instantaneously stopped guffawing.

"If this makes you feel better," Shakaku said to Chouji and Shikamaru. "We thought he was a girl the first time we met him too."

"Gee, thanks for the _useful_ information," Shikamaru retorted coldly.

Cleaning Naruto's face from grime and dirt, Ino smiled to herself, relieved that there was still something to laugh about after what had happened. She looked down at the face besides her, her eyes softening as she continued on with the cleaning task. She paused when her finger grazed the whisker marks on Naruto's cheek, shivering as she felt her skin against the calloused marks. Ino always wondered what had made Naruto to be who he was; a stubborn, hyperactive boy with dreams that he could never achieve because of the demon sealed inside of him.

Ino gritted her teeth, a surge of unknown fury racing through her veins.

_It's just not fair…_

(----------)

Darkness…

It was always darkness…

And more than often; loneliness.

Naruto cracked open an eye, hazily regarding the shadows that fended him. Those shadows grew bigger and longer every time he saw them, each night he comforted himself with the seclusion from reality. He found peace in the depth of his mind. Staggering up to his feet, Naruto slowly inhaled the coppery scent of blood that had endlessly lingered inside him. The atmosphere was heavy with that scent, luring him deeper and deeper into incessant self-hatred. He had gotten used to that. He had lived through each suffering imaginable.

And now…

He was alone again.

"Kyuubi?" Naruto finally croaked out, his voice hoarse and his throat burning. A pair of snake-like eyes flashed before him, mocking and sneering at his vulnerability. He remembered fighting Orochimaru, he remembered 'borrowing' Kyuubi's strength and he remembered the flaming sensation of another seal placed on him. "Kyuubi?!"

"The Great Youkai is not here."

A soothing tone, light and almost nonexistent, as though it was naught but a mere whisper by the wind graced Naruto's ears. The blonde looked around, startled by the suddenness of that voice. There was still the darkness that had enveloped him like before but at the distant, the far horizon, there was something else. Something that did not exactly suited his picture of absolute solidity. A… a streak of light. The shadows that used to stay faithfully besides him shrunk, as if afraid of the existence of that light. Naruto took a step back, his eyes widening in unfounded fear. The light seemed to have a life of its own, as it glided towards him, radiating with unnatural warmth and… tenderness.

Naruto unwillingly gasped at the sight that met him.

It was a female, or some kind of a spectre that looked like a female human, glowing pale golden from the light that bathed her softly. She had a bright sheet of jet-black hair, well over her shoulder and cascaded down to the ground. Almond shaped eyes with sapphire irises looked down at him, scarlet-painted lips curved into an annoyingly knowing smile. Her lithe form was draped in a pale blue kimono, with the darker shade of blue for its obi, trailing behind her as she made her way towards Naruto. Once she stood towering over him, the spectre-like female bowed low.

"Naruto-sama," she rasped out in the same soothing tone. "It has been a while."

Naruto blinked and choked out the most reasonable question he could think of at that particular situation, "Who the hell are you?!"

She straightened up and tilted her porcelain face to a side. "Don't you know me?"

"Hell no!" the blonde backed a few steps away and glowered at the unknown entity before him. "And what do you mean when you said that Kyuubi is not here?"

The female spectre parted her lips and delicately laughed. Her laughter was like the sound of thousands shattered glasses, sharp and valiant. "Naruto-sama, do you know where you are right now?"

The blonde snorted derisively. "My mind, I guess, or something like that."

"And why are you here?" she pursued, her smile broadened.

"Snake-bastard," Naruto spat out. He placed a hand over his belly, over the Fourth's seal, before glaring back at the spectre. "Why are – you – here?"

"Aa… you really don't know, do you?" waving a hand at the surrounding shadows, that shrunk back even more so, she said, "I'm always here, inside of you. And every night, I accompanies you, even when you're not aware of that, Naruto-sama."

Naruto felt like punching that porcelain-smooth face to the deepest bowl of Hell. "That still doesn't answer my question, dammit!" he paused and continued, after realizing something, "And why the hell are you calling me 'Naruto-sama'?!"

She spread her hands and bowed again. "As a servant might call her master."

Gaping at the spectre, Naruto couldn't help but to wonder if he had finally lost all track of sanity. He knew talking to Kyuubi would sooner or later brought bad consequences and now, he's having a fucking delusion, for crying out loud! He wanted to humour the whole situation, maybe laugh a bit and then try to somehow slap himself back to consciousness, but it seemed that somewhere along the road of his self-discovery, he had failed to conceal the utmost horror and confusion from surfacing on his face. And that damned, crap-dishing spectre was smiling at him, in amusement!

"You," he pointed at the spectre, "are my servant?"

"Technically, yes," she replied obligingly, her smile faltering. "I am the Seal."

"The WHAT?!"

She sighed and reached out a hand towards Naruto. The blonde, surprised by the sudden move, was rendered petrified as the spectre lifted up his shirt, revealing the symbol of the Fourth's seal on his belly. The seal glowed crimson as she traced the spirals on it in a painfully slow motion, and to Naruto's horror, the tip of her finger had 'sunk' into his flesh as she dragged that particular finger along the seal. It was as if she was invisible, or semi-transparent because Naruto felt no pain at all until she gracefully withdrew her finger and regarded him quietly.

"I am the Seal, the blood-wrought chains that bind the Great Youkai from breaking free, the cage that keeps the Great Youkai away from his visions of utter destruction and chaos," she declared before Naruto, her eyes flashing with inhuman passion.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and snorted in disgust. "If you're the Seal, why are you here? Shouldn't you be 'caging' Kyuubi instead? And I supposed that's why Kyuubi isn't here now, eh? Because you're here."

The spectre meekly nodded at the sarcasm-laced accusation. "Yes, and no."

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Naruto roared, trying desperately to stop himself from eating his shoes in frustration and kill the spectre, or the seal, or whatever she was in a barefooted rampage.

"Yes, the Great Youkai is not here because, as you have said, I am here," she said, the tone of her voice hardened slightly. "But the real reason I am here is because of the other seal that Orochimaru had placed on you, Naruto-sama. The Five Part Seal."

"Okay, wait!" Naruto held up his hands, eyes widening in crass display of mockery. "Are you some sort of a hallucination or something?! You suddenly materialised out of nowhere, claiming that you're the… 'Seal' and now, you expects me to believe that that fucking seal Snake-bastard put on me—"

"Hindered the Great Youkai from appearing in your mind as always?" she finished the sentence quietly. "Yes, Naruto-sama, that is true."

For the umpteenth times in thirty second, Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to murder the spectre, regardless of how he could possibly do that. He refrained himself from pulling out his hair in frustration and settled on glaring obtrusively at her. "And why did you choose to reveal yourself right now? Where did you come from anyway?!"

The female spectre (much to Naruto's utter annoyance) bowed her head again. "I am here as your fate entwines with the Great Youkai's. Shamed as I had to admit this, I was weakened throughout these years, both by the hatred raging in your veins and your lust for revenge. I could do nothing when the Great Youkai started communicating with you, Naruto-sama but I found little assurance that there are still a glimmer of hope against this blinding curtain of darkness."

_Look at that! She even comes with a built-in crappish philosophical program_, he mused bitterly, with a hint of well-hidden amusement. "Cut the bullshit and go straight to the point, will you?" 

"Explaining the ancient prophecies and your fate is not my concern, Naruto-sama," she said and Naruto was alerted of a slight change of the aura that enveloped her. "I sensed the arrival of one of the True Blood, and perhaps, the time has come for you to understand your fate."

"What thehell are you talking about, dammit?! What True Blood?!"

The spectre smiled, gliding closer to Naruto. The blonde tried to take a step back, but found himself immobile. His eyes widened when she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He was flooded with an unfamiliar stream of warmth and bright light, so much different from the cold and darkness that used to accompany him. Naruto closed his eyes, unconsciously enjoying the pleasant sensation of the warmth. His tense muscles loosened noticeably. No one ever hugged him like this before. He was always fooling around with Iruka-sensei, but the spectre's warmth were poles apart from that. It felt so… (odd as it seemed) motherly.

"Naruto-sama," she withdrew, staring down at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "It is time for you to awaken and face your destiny. Remember, hatred will only consume you in its fire but love will set your soul free. Live well, my master."

"Wha—"

(----------)

"You're awake!"

_My head…_ Naruto blinked, placing a hand to the side of his head and groaned in pain. He pushed himself up from his current laying-on-the-ground position and stared in dazed confusion as the faces around him. Ino, who had a sheepish grin plastered on her face was sitting besides the blonde, fidgeting with a dirty handkerchief. "How long have I been knocked out cold?"

"Long enough," she replied teasingly, brushing aside a few strands of stray pale hair from her forehead. Fleetingly, Naruto contemplated that she looked surprisingly (to him, that is) pretty and before long, he felt his face reddened.

_Hatred will consume you but love will set you free…_

…

_I swear I'm gonna kill her if I ever meet that freakin' seal again! _

Cursing under his breath, Naruto shifted so that Ino couldn't see the tinge of red that was stubbornly adorning his cheeks. "We should move on."

"I guess," Ino stood up and dusted the back of her pants. Naruto noticed that her middle section was carefully bandaged but decided to not ask about it. "Your team's got two scrolls already. Mine should start searching for one."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "We've got another scroll?"

"Long story," she grinned and offered him a hand. "Ask Sakura for the details."

Sakura and the others were chatting nearby, with three unknown figures standing near them. He noticed the redhead that had winked at him in the first exam. Naruto eyed the three genins with suspicion and turned to Ino, but as she only nodded to signal that they were trustworthy, he simply shrugged and walked towards the cluster of Leaf genins with the blonde kunoichi following him closely behind. Shikamaru was the first one to notice his presence, and he raised a hand in greeting. Naruto grinned, before pausing next to Sakura. Sasuke was still unconscious but his fingers were twitching subtly.

"Is he okay?" Naruto questioned Sakura, deliberately avoiding the mentioning of the weird tattoo he noticed on Sasuke's neck and the state of Sakura's hair.

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled and nodded.

"Naruto."

The said blonde swivelled around to face the one that had called him, finding himself face to face with the three Sun genins. He narrowed his eyes, but refrained from spitting out any obscenities at them. "Yeah?"

Shakaku vaguely suppressed a smile. "I gather that you are in a condition fit to continue to the tower?"

"And kick your ass in the way? Yes," he huffed, crossing both arms against his chest. Ino rolled her eyes heavenwards at his behaviour. "Who are you anyway? Never seen you around."

"You'll know soon enough who we are," the redhead replied, languidly turning around and walked to her two companions. She stopped and said, though loud enough so that only Naruto and Ino could hear her. "And you will know who you are."

In a flash, the three genins disappeared into clouds of smoke.

Naruto gritted his teeth, fingers balled into fists. _What theheck is wrong with everything today?! First the Seal and now the Three Amigos! _

"What did she meant when she said 'knowing who you are'?" Naruto almost jumped out of his skin when Ino suddenly spoke out as he had conveniently forgot of her existence behind him.

"Don't ask me," he snapped, turning and briskly made his way towards Sakura. "I don't know anything about anything."

Sasuke woke up soon after that, looking so… well, _ashamed _that Naruto couldn't really bring himself to further inflict upon the Uchiha any snide comments. Team Seven thanked the other team profusely, and even Sakura managed to smile at Ino in the midst of her relief after her precious raven-haired avenger had regained consciousness. Naruto avoided the blonde kunoichi's questioning glare, in full knowledge that he couldn't possibly tell Ino of what had happened in the time that he had spent in his mindscape with the female spectre and what she had told him.

Which, come to think about it, was not much.

"See you later in the tower, hopefully," Ino had said, looking slightly disappointed before moving on with her teammates. Naruto watched her departure with a sinking feeling in his stomach, like he actually didn't want her to go.

_It's not like we won't see each other again_, he shook his head and collected any used kunai he could found in the battlefield, handing them to Sakura. Ino had tidied up the mess of her hair and she had looked almost like the usual Sakura, except that now the kunoichi was more confident though she kept on eyeing Sasuke. The raven-haired genin, meanwhile, was frowning at everything in general and Naruto found it to be ridiculous and a waste of time to try and strike up a conversation with the Uchiha. The blonde breathed in deeply and smiled at Sakura.

"We better get going if we want to finish this exam fast."

That said, the three genins disappeared into mere blurs, moving towards the tower.

(----------)

"Shakaku, do you still want to follow those three?"

The redhead glanced sideway at her green-haired teammate, before eyeing the speeding blurs that were Team Seven. She smiled amiably and shook her head. "Naruto knows what to do. He's an Uzumaki after all."

Ryuujin arched an eyebrow and silently muttered, "Uzumaki Family is full of stubborn and conceited nins."

"I heard that, Ryuu."

TBC

A/N:

I'm back. Sorry it took me so long to continue this story. Hope none of you is bored of waiting, na? My exams gone with the usual flow; dead boring! I'm glad that everything's finished and now, I have more time to write. :: cheers :: And sorry bout the late update. Explanation? Suffice to say: internet... sucky, fanfiction(dot)net... sucky also.

I missed answering reviews from you guys!!

First off, to **Thermopyle** and **blazer6,**

Whoa! Are you two ganging up on me or something? Well, I admit that my explanation over how Sasuke knew about Kyuubi's chakra was a bit (okay, a lot!) lacking on the factual basis. I stated that Sasuke knew when they were fighting the Mist nins. Firstly, let me again remind you that everyone in Konoha knew thatNaruto is Kyuubi's vessel in this fic. Thus you don't need to be a genius to know that the chakra change that Naruto had gone through in Chap. 11 is influenced by another force, internal one to be exact. And Sasuke must've known that something's wrong when Naruto managed to defeat Haku, correct? It's just like pieces of a puzzle. I hate Sasuke but let's give him some credit; he's an Uchiha and an Uchiha is just born clever (if not genius, look at Itachi) and royal pain in the ass. Hope that satisfy your curiosity, ne?

Actually, I'm really glad that there are those who really read the story and are not hesitant to forward questions and suggestions, so thanks a lot, you two!

**refused**: My knight in shining armour? :: blushes :: Why, that's so sweet… And thanks for your kind words; I think I've done well in my exam. Another appearance of the Sun genins in this chapters and I hope that you enjoyed it, na? I don't really wanna go overboard with the OCs though, that's why I've been keeping them low profile but I think they'll get more airtime in chapters to come.

**Keltosh**: Yep, I've read the manga like you've suggested and thanks for that. Ino looks cooler in manga than in the anime, mind you. :: laughs :: But Naruto's a real idiot in that too. Pity they made him like that…

**Crutches**: Yes, someone already pointed out that one mistake to me and thank you for the confirmation. I do hope I've used the correct terms in this chapter though, coz it is kinda hard to change something that you're already used to. So, keep on the constructive comment coming!

**bLacKBodian**: Thanks, really, for your compliments and about the OCs, they play parts in this fic, so they have to be included as fragments of Naruto's past. I guess you'll just have to live with it.

**Skuld's Sentaro**: This chappie is dedicated to you, birthday girl! :: cheers :: It's a late present but it's a present nonetheless, right? Anyways, yes, you're such a dedicated reviewer and I love you for that! :: hearts ::

**BigAznDaddy**: Yeah, well Lee didn't come. He's too busy playing with squirrels and running after tree leaves. :: chuckles :: And Naru's too busy yelling at the Seal to wake up so Sasuke have to get off his lazy ass and fight.

And to others;

**nonengel, Night-Owl123, Gopu, sokar, sephynarutocloud, HikaruOfArrow, Dan Inverse, Stonebridge, Licht Sieger, hopefullight, HellHound, Joekool, rumour, Chaos-Empersonified, the-best-of-everything,**

Thanks for all your support and kind words. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have come this far!

Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!

Kaara.


	14. A Brief Interruption

Title: Fighting All Odds

By: Kaara

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

Summary so far: Finally got out of the freakin' forest and heading straight to the Preliminary Round!

Notes:

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

(-) : change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

Chapter Thirteen: A Brief Interruption.

It was well past sunset that Team Seven found themselves walking up the steps towards the tower in weariness. Words proved to be unnecessarily vain for them at that time, being that they were too wrapped up in their own thoughts to care about conversation. They had succeeded in avoiding potential battles that could've cost them the scrolls, due to the combined effort of systematic planning, hiding and a bit of luck. They were weakened through the battles before and another one would have proved to be much of a torture to their current state.

Naruto was frowning darkly, recalling the last ten hours of his life and everything in it. Orochimaru, the seal, and those Sun genins… everything seemed to have grown out of control in just one day. And he still couldn't hear Kyuubi anymore, although he had tried several times to reach the fox demon through their journey to the tower. It was as if Kyuubi had been… locked away once again. Just like before. Just like what the seal had told him. The blonde suddenly felt… empty. Without Kyuubi to accompany him, he felt oddly vulnerable. And perhaps, lonely.

Kyuubi was his… friend. Not just a mere companion that he sought for when he felt lonely and angry, but also a friend that he cared deeply about. He didn't know since when he had felt this strongly towards the youkai, but he did. Maybe it was because Kyuubi was the first creature that did not turn his back away from Naruto in the times when he most needed him. Maybe it was because Kyuubi was the first one that really understood him and his pain. But one thing that Naruto knew; Kyuubi had always be there for him. He didn't give a damn if it was for the fox's own revenge or world destruction.

Kyuubi was _always_ there.

_Unlike _everyone else.

Naruto gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing._ I should try to figure out how to lift that Orochimaru's seal. That must be the one that holds Kyuubi back. The question is how? I can't possibly ask Kakashi-sensei; he'll make me tell him the reason behind it. Dammit! It's all comes down to this. After all the hell we've been through… _

Sealing and unsealing was not really the prime subject that Naruto had practiced for this exam, seeing that he focused more on Kyuubi's chakra-control training and jutsus. There were a few jutsus that involves minor sealing, such as the Hinote Fuiin (Flame Seal) but those were for the strict use on chakra. Orochimaru's Five Part Seal was different; it directly sealed the entity that it was aimed for. And the blonde had absolutely no idea on how to lift such a complicated seal. He was not prepared for such complication. It had begun as a mere exam, after all.

Naruto stared down at his two hands and clenched the fingers tightly.

He _should've_ been stronger…

Oblivious of where his feet were carrying him, Naruto continued on following his other two teammates like a brewing cloud of thunder, ready to strike at anyone who dared to open a mouth against him. The tower was deserted, he had realized that, and there was an unsettling atmosphere looming heavily above them. Maybe it was from the anxiety combined from the Chuunin hopefuls, maybe it was because so many had been sacrificed in order to live up to the exam's infamous lethality. Naruto didn't know, and he hadn't had the energy left to even feel curious.

He was extremely tired of _everything_.

Upon arriving in front of a pair of doors that was marked with their team's name, the three genins exchanged grim glances before pushing the doors open and stepped inside, drinking in the details of the room that had unfold. It was a moderately furnished room, complete with three single beds facing an open window. There was one side dedicated to a table with chairs, cooking utensils and a gas stove. Another section was turned into a training ground, with several sandbags hanging from the ceiling among other things. The last section was obviously the lavatory.

Sakura sauntered in first towards the beds, literally jumping onto one of them. She had closed her eyes, savouring in the softness of the mattress as she allowed herself to be lulled to a much-deserved sleep by the cool breeze and the faint scent of pine trees. All memories of previous life-threatening battles had momentarily evaporated into a feeling of accomplishment. Sasuke stared at Sakura's still form for several seconds before he too, claimed a bed of his own and left the middle one empty, apparently for Naruto. The blonde was still frowning, his eyes glued to the view of the forest from the window.

Naruto decided that from that day onwards, he hated the Forest of Death.

For further screwing up his already screwed up life.

Dumping the two scrolls on the table, Naruto made his way to a lone refrigerator, rummaging around until he found something that brought a smile onto his gloomy feature. A cup of instant ramen, beef flavour. He placed the opened cup onto the counter and proceeded on to boil some water, constantly reminding himself to profusely thank whomever was responsible for their room for the treat. The blonde seated himself as he waited for the water to boil, idly flicking off dust from his dark blue shirt. The shirt was excessively torn, huge slash marks leaving strips of fabric clinging for dear life.

_Wonder if they have extra shirt somewhere around here… Wouldn't want to go around half-naked like this_, Naruto thought, slightly amused by a fleeting image of Ino's face if she would ever see him walking around the place with only his jeans on. Despite the tense atmosphere before, he found himself snickering softly.

The shrill screech of a whistling sound snapped him back to reality, his unfocused blue eyes staring absentmindedly at the steam billowing from the kettle. Like countless times before, his system automatically directed him to the ramen cup, poured the boiling water into it and on towards the waiting part. Before long, Naruto was slurping noisily on the ramen as he eyed the forest through one of the opened windows. The rich texture of the noodles pleased his taste buds and his stomach but even that couldn't distract Naruto from the constant negative thoughts that plagued his mind.

Much to his annoyance, he began thinking about Ino again.

Naruto was worried about her, in a way that seemed so… alien to him. He wasn't used to think about anyone else (save for Iruka-sensei sometimes) and Kyuubi had incessantly told him that no one really cared about him. Kyuubi had always been right before and he never did question the youkai's words. But now… everything seemed to have taken on a new light. He remembered Hinata's confidence in him, the way the Hyuuga had smiled whenever he told her something, though he rarely meant any of them. And then, there's the matter of Ino and her (if one could call it this) _affection_ towards Naruto.

Ino had begun as a simple distraction, a way to ease down his angsty moments and his dark rumination on destroying Konoha. She was supposed to be one of those faceless people that he got acquainted to through the lanes of his life. And forget about. She was _supposed_ to mean _nothing_. He had snorted when Kyuubi told him that he was beginning to get close to the kunoichi. Too close for the fox's comfort, in fact. But when he saw her, the expression of pure relief on her face as he woke up, of what she had done in the fight with the Sound nins (Sakura had insisted on telling him that)…

Naruto subsequently choked on his ramen and cursed loudly.

His eyes, reluctant as they were, strayed back towards the forest, wondering about a certain kunoichi.

(-)

Those days Team Seven spent in waiting for the next phase of the Chuunin Exam was a series of repeated routine, day after day. They started the day with the same breakfast; Naruto had ramen, Sakura and Sasuke had cereal. Then, they trained. Well, it's more like the blonde avoided the constant questionnaires about what had happened in the forest. About the most-feared youkai inside of him. Sakura had been anxious; Sasuke had been more than curious, he was suspicious. At these particular times did Naruto remember why he didn't like clever people in the first place.

They ask too many questions and suspect too many things.

Outside the tower and within a few minutes of walking, there was a small field. Fenced by ominous gigantic trees and thick shrubbery, this was a haven of escape for the blonde from the annoying questions and overwhelming suspicion. Each day, he would sneak into this field after finishing his breakfast to find solace and peace with his own self as his only companion. It was actually a piece of barren land, untouched by any hint of life, be it plants or animals. There was something about the place that seemed… _dead_. And for some reasons that he couldn't quite yet fathom, Naruto liked it.

It reminded him of the place where Kyuubi and him met many nights before.

Naruto still hadn't been able to figure out a way to lift Orochimaru's seal, and that vexed him the most. It drilled into his conscience, ripping apart every ounce of patience and belief he had carefully built under Kyuubi's intense and insistence guidance. It reminded him that he was not strong enough, that he was still _worthless. _Each night, he would find himself to be alone, calling out for something that was already outside of his reach. Orochimaru's mocking laughter would resound shrilly, drowning his voice and suffocated him within a solid haze of failure and insignificance.

That laughter was the one thing that drove him to the brink of self-destruction. Kyuubi last words to him was for Naruto to get stronger, to be faster, to be better. On whole. Stupid as it may seem, Naruto found himself taking those words seriously. Like they were some kind of a death will or something. He hated the feeling of being weak. Dawn to dusk, he would force himself beyond exhaustion, beyond every existent barrier (be it physical or mental) to improve. As much and as fast as he could. Naruto would laugh sometimes, when he was drenched in sweat and blood. He would laugh alone.

Not with mirth or delight, but with a sense of weariness.

Weariness that was so deep, he felt it inside his bones. His very core.

And as he laughed, he never did notice the pair of azure irises watching him amidst the green façade of tranquillity surrounding him.

(-)

"You're still watching him, Akki-sama?"

The raven-haired woman smiled vaguely at the words spoken from somewhere behind her; words that sounded as if the sentence was an accusation, instead of a question. She delicately turned to face the intruder, brushing off a stray leaf from her shoulder. As the tip of her slender fingers touched the green leaf, it immediately shrunk and withered, before vanishing into particles of dust. She eyed this anomalous occurrence calmly, her attention already shifted to the lanky redhead before her.

"Is there something wrong, Shakaku?" the woman asked, the tone of her voice pleasantly low despite the wide distance between them. "Something that is bothering you?"

Shakaku swallowed hard, her ruby eyes gleamed dangerously. "It's the seal. How long are you going to let him walk around with the seal of Orochimaru rendering him from developing his own strength?"

"You are still young, so very young," Akki took a step forward, and a deathly silence enveloped the two kunoichi. Her eyes fluttered shut. "There are things that are meant to happen, that we should do nothing about. This is one of those things."

"But, Akki-sama—"

"Shakaku," the redhead clamped her mouth shut, eyes narrowing as she rigidly listened to Akki. The woman exhaled slowly and when she opened her eyes, they were blazing crimson. The colour of blood, just like Kyuubi's. "Promise me that you will do nothing about this. That you will not interfere."

"… Yes, _aunt_."

(-)

On the third day, a pleasant surprise awaited Naruto, in the form of a loud yell.

"Naruto!"

The blonde blinked, turning in time to face a grinning kunoichi. He crossed his arms against his chest and faked a frown. "Ino, what took you so long? Shikamaru lost his way inside the forest?"

Ino pouted, but was apparently conscious of the humour. Her sapphire eyes twinkled mischievously as she glanced at a nonchalant Shikamaru and a grumbling Chouji. "Sort of. A team held us up, almost as stubborn as yours. But of course, we steamrolled them."

"Very believable," Naruto countered, with wits of sarcasm so glaringly obvious, it made the blonde kunoichi giggled. His lips impulsively curved into a smile, a languid wave of relief washing over him. "I'm glad you made it."

"Don't talk as if you expect us to fail, will you?"

"Hey, I ain't the one who says that," Naruto shrugged and ran a hand through his messy locks of hair. "I'm just heading off to the cafeteria. Wanna tag along? Chouji looks like he can do with a giant bowl of ramen."

The said boy, whose piggy-like eyes had glinted at the mentioning of the word 'cafeteria' and the further mentioning of food, whizzed past a blinking Naruto towards the south passageway, elated shouts resounded along the hallway. Naruto raised an eyebrow, and shook his head at Chouji's remaining teammates. He grinned widely, "You know, he's going the wrong way."

Ino and Shikamaru (despite himself), chuckled in perfect unison.

Gesturing at the east passageway, Naruto said, in a rather witty imitation of the old Hokage, "Shall we proceed then?"

"You go first," Shikamaru suddenly said, his hands deep in both pockets as he started to walk to the direction that Chouji had taken earlier. "I'll somehow find Chouji, if he hadn't jump off the balcony yet in search for the cafeteria."

"Good luck," Naruto mouthed out, from besides a chuckling Ino. "You'll need that."

The pony-tailed genin raised a hand in respond, his retreating back slowly consumed by the shadows. Naruto and Ino exchanged looks, before they walked into the other passage in complete silence. The kunoichi finally broke the silence, amusement dancing in her blue orbs. "So, what's with the new outfit? You got a new fashion consultant?"

Naruto glanced down at the dirty red oversized sweater he wore over a sleeveless shirt with the same shade, and a pair of loose jeans. And then, a fresh grin surfaced onto his feature. "It's for training. Found a nice, secluded spot nearby."

"I've fallen behind, right?"

They paused at the entrance to the cafeteria; Naruto staring into a pair of suddenly saddened sapphire eyes. He clenched his fingers tightly, fighting down the dull throbbing of pain originated from countless wounds marring his flesh, hidden carefully beneath the many layers of clothing. It made him uncomfortable, facing an insecure Ino, who had always looked so self-assured and confident before. It seemed both absurd and disturbing at the same time. It seemed to be, somehow, his fault.

He awkwardly reached out a hand and placed it on Ino's shoulder (though the kunoichi was indeed taller than him), who flinched at the sudden touch. "Stop worrying so much. It doesn't suit you well."

"That's really considerate of you," her tone was lighter than before, slightly flavoured by a touch of sarcasm. Punching Naruto playfully on the shoulder, Ino sauntered into the deserted cafeteria. Almost bouncing, actually. "Come on, I'm starving!"

Naruto gawked at the kunoichi, disbelief painted on his face as he wondered if Ino possessed the infamous different personas syndrome, switching back between angsty and maddeningly cheerful for fun and profit. Scratching the back of his head, Naruto raised his shoulders and tailed Ino to a table, situated at the far end of the spacious cafeteria. He pointedly stared at the assorted delicacies on Ino's tray, setting down his own cup of strong, black coffee.

"I never knew that you drink coffee," Ino commented, untying and retying her long hair before picking up the chopsticks. She scrunched up her nose in distaste as she removed a pile of Brussels sprouts from one of the dishes.

Naruto took a sip and grimaced. He never did like coffee anyway. "I need the caffeine, it keeps me awake."

"Have you been trying suicide through excessive training lately?" Ino abandoned her croissant and glared at the genin before her, perfectly shaped brows knitted into a dark frown. "That's where those new scars come from, isn't it?"

Following her gaze, Naruto instinctively ran a finger along a particularly nasty stitched scar on one side of his neck, which had resulted from an experimental move he tested earlier that day. From that experiment, he subsequently found out that he shouldn't, under any circumstances, stand near an exploding tree in the future. Glaring at his coffee rather than at Ino, the blonde made a non-committal sort of grunt from the depth of his throat, signalling his reluctance to pursue the current topic. He tugged the hood of his sweater upwards, trying in vain to cover the said scar with Ino still frowning stubbornly at him.

"Your soup is getting cold," Naruto jerked his head towards a milky white bowl, his fingers curling around the much-welcomed warmth of his cup of coffee. He ignored Ino's snort that followed his attempt of steering the conversation away from him. "Once you finish this, maybe we can go training together. That is, if you're not too worn out."

"I think I can still take a couple of blows," the kunoichi replied through a mouthful of sausages. She poked mindlessly at her piece of apple pie, looking out towards the gloomy forest from the huge window near their table. "But I need a shower first. I'm starting to smell like Chouji."

The blonde snickered and brought the cup to his lips again. "That must be bad, huh?"

"Really, _really_ bad."

(-)

Sasuke and Sakura had stopped asking Naruto where he had spent his time training after he ignored their (ninety nine percent from Sakura) twentieth attempts at doing so. They had an unspoken agreement of not asking any question whilst they were at each other presence, and thus, resulted in a slightly tense relationship between them that had seemed to stretch further (and getting worse) with each passing second. As Naruto sauntered into their room for a change of clothes, he caught sight of Sasuke talking (muttering, to be precise) to Sakura, with the pink-haired kunoichi listening in apt attention.

Attention that had nothing to do with whatsoever fangirl-ish hormones.

It didn't take long for Naruto to figure out that the Uchiha was giving Sakura several pointers that might prove to be useful in physical combat. Knowing Sasuke and his infamous loathing towards any form of communication except the usual snort and grunt, it amused and amazed the blonde to no end. _Maybe Apocalypse's coming,_ Naruto thought sarcastically as he slipped out of his shirt and dropped the said article into a laundry basket. He winced when the movement ignited a wave of pain throughout his entire worn out system, the countless healing wounds throbbing in dull unison.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto concentrated on the menial task of fumbling with the many heaps of clothing inside the cupboard, hoping that somehow it will distract him from the pain. It actually did, in a sense, as he started seething inside again when he was reminded that the wounds would take a longer time to heal than they would have if Kyuubi was there. He almost ripped through an olive green shirt that he tried to put on, almost broke the hinges of the cupboard when he slammed its doors shut and almost tripped on an overturned chair as he reached for his jacket.

Naruto almost jutsu-ed the room to oblivion in his fury.

He stormed out of the room, blissfully oblivious of similar wary glances he earned from his teammates. Naruto took a left turn and headed towards the other end of the tower, where he had learnt earlier to be the situated room for Team Ten. The frown encasing his feature slowly evaporated as he neared his destination and soon found himself staring at a pair of doors similar to the ones he had almost crushed to smithereens on his way out from his room. Reaching out a hand, he knocked at a door and waited in subdued fury for Ino to come out.

To which she did, thirty minutes later.

"What took you so long?" the blonde genin demanded, left eyebrow twitching continuously as he glared at the girl besides him.

Ino just shrugged and offered him a wide grin. "It's not _that_ long. Besides, I did tell you that I needed a shower."

"Shower takes five minutes; _building_ a shower takes thirty," Naruto huffed in obvious annoyance and leapt out from the tower, the gravity force pulling him towards the ground. He stretched out his hands as he went past a particularly shady tree and caught one of its many protruding branches, swinging a whole three hundred and sixty degrees before he released the branch and landed with a soft 'Thud' on the ground below. Naruto tilted his head up towards Ino and smirked. "Let me see you try that!"

The kunoichi snorted not-so-discretely at the display. "Show off freak. I can do better."

To prove her words, Ino carefully balanced herself on the metal railings of the corridor and spread her hands as if she would take off and fly down to Naruto. She inhaled deeply, took a step forward and plummeted down like a china figurine. The corner of her mouth curved up into a grin when she used a branch as a one-way trampoline, soaring high above a sulking Naruto and landed not far from the blonde, her back straight and her chin held up high.

"I see that you've sharpened your reflexes," the genin retorted, hands deep in both pockets. He kicked a pebble out of his way and sauntered towards his training ground, Ino tailing him with a wide grin adorning her pretty face.

"What, do you think I'll let you brag around like some inflated gas bag and not do anything about it?" she happily snapped, the wide grin (if physically possible) widened even more. "I may hate the Forest but hey, I can't deny that it gave me lots of practice."

Naruto cocked his head to a side and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That's good, then." He stopped as he recognized the familiar lifeless atmosphere and lack of tree, turning to face Ino. "Like it here?"

She gave the place one scrutinising look and promptly snorted. "This place looks dead to me. Guess that's the best we can get around here. Got any suggestion of what to begin with?"

"One-on-one, first one to surrender's a loser," Naruto proposed nonchalantly, shrugging off his sweater and cracked his knuckles.

The kunoichi arched an eyebrow. "No using Kage Bunshin. It's not fair."

"Whatever you say, _ma'am_," the blonde grinned and fell into a fighting stance. "It's not like you can handle even one Naruto, let alone a whole battalion, eh?"

"Shut up and ready to get your ass kicked."

(-)

Naruto tossed a dry stick into the roaring flame before him, staring in mindless fascination as the stick was consumed by numerous tongues of fire in a matter of seconds and added a whole bunch of others that he had gathered in a pile besides him. The fire roared higher than ever, lighting up his face with an eerie glow of yellow and orange. He smiled faintly and retreated from the fire, stopping as he reached Ino. The kunoichi inhaled deeply, smiling at Naruto. She had abandoned her usual purple 'uniform' and was donned in a midnight blue shirt and black shorts.

A comfortable silence blanketed them, rustles of leaves and crickets songs accompanying the gentle breeze that sifted through the space. It was still early into the night, stars winking mischievously down at the pair from the dark sky as the silver shower of moonlight accentuated shadowy outlines of trees surrounding them like some ghostly shadows of the unknown. The cackling sound of burning logs was the only intrusive element inside the scene, though it blended perfectly into the imperfect silence and joined in the symphony of leaves and crickets.

"It's warm tonight," Ino started, shifting slightly from her position against a tree. She tilted her head heavenwards and stared thoughtfully at the dotting stars. "It'd been freezing cold inside the forest since the first night we spent inside there."

"You mean the forest?" the kunoichi nodded in response. Naruto pulled the sweater closer to his body to fend off inexistence chill, glancing briefly at Ino. He squatted with his back against the same tree that Ino was leaning on and began tracing patterns on the ground. He paused after a while and muttered, "Thanks, Ino."

Ino blinked and unlatched her eyes from the stars, staring in confused amazement at the blonde genin. "What?"

"Thanks," Naruto obligingly repeated, a hint of a smile surfaced on his feature. "For what you've done in the fight. I… _we_ couldn't have made it without Shikamaru, Chouji and your help."

"Sakura thanked us enough," she promptly retorted. "You've helped me a lot. It's payback, I guess. So don't mention it. Deal?"

Naruto nodded and smiled, though rather to himself than towards the kunoichi. "Deal."

"I heard about Orochimaru, Naruto."

The place went quiet immediately; the air stilled, the rustles stopped and the cricket songs had died down as soon as Ino finished the sentence. It was as if even nature despised, feared that very name. Naruto had tensed, his fingers curling tightly into fists and sharp nails dug into his palm to create half-moon indents that almost break skin. Perhaps sensing that she had spoken something close to a taboo, Ino hadn't instantly pursued her remark and instead, stepped towards the cackling fire to place in more logs and twigs. She continued on prodding the hungry flames, eyes reflecting the fiery glow.

Naruto was silently cursing under his breath, instinctively running a hand under the shirt and over his belly. The peaceful mood before was ultimately ruined, something that he had hoped won't happen. He suppressed a growl of loathing when Orochimaru's mocking laughter resounded once again inside his head, with its usual hated clarity and sharpness. He narrowed his eyes at Ino's back, before staring down at the dirt on the ground. _She only wanted to know,_ Naruto thought in disdain, his teeth grinding together. _It's that damned curiosity again!_

"Ino, I—"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," her voice rang clearly through the silence, her back still facing Naruto. "I asked because I… care."

He closed his eyes and inhaled, the air rushing into his lungs like thousands of tiny, sharp needles that assaulted his innards. "You shouldn't."

"Why?" the kunoichi demanded and finally turned to stare at Naruto, her eyes piercing into his with an unusual acidity. Gone were the playful kunoichi that laughed in the cafeteria that evening, replaced by the stubborn Ino that others had come to know so well about throughout the years. "You're so full of shit, you know that?"

"What did you mean by that?" Naruto stood upright, eyes narrowing as his mouth twisted into a snarl, disdain forgotten.

Ino smirked cynically and took a step towards Naruto. "Do you think I don't know about your whole insecurities issue? That you don't trust any of us? I can see it in your eyes, dammit! Why can't you, for once, learn to trust like anybody else?"

"Why should I? Nobody trusted _me_ before!" he was yelling on top of his lungs, unable to hide the bitter memories of childhood from contaminating the tone of his voice. The burden of suppressing his anger and hatred had overwhelmed his senses, drowning and suffocating him in a bottomless sea of rage. It misted his vision with red, making him unable to see the brief hint of hurt he had caused on Ino. "I'm fine living by myself because I'm _not_ like anybody else. I'm the _frightening _demon vessel, the horrifying _monstrosity_,remember?"

A flicker of emotion flashed through Ino's blue eyes and her voice softened, sounding almost as if she was pained when she spoke, "I don't give a flipping damn if you the demon itself. To me, you're Uzumaki Naruto, a loud and annoying brat. I _trust_ you."

She bit down on her lower lip, backing slowly away from Naruto without a word before breaking into a run towards the tower. The shadows soon devoured any trace left of the kunoichi, leaving Naruto to stare open-mouthed at the empty spot near the fire. He snapped out of his shocked reverie, spitting out obscenities at any deities that might be listening at that time. It had begun as a simple night out, a chat between acquaintances but Orochimaru (though the snake guy had no whatsoever idea about this) had once again ruined his life and messed up his head.

Naruto wordlessly stomped onto the fire, crushing it to an early death.

Hoping that he could do the same to Orochimaru.

(-)

Contrary to popular (and _his_)belief, Naruto hadn't been able to forget that night.

It had bugged him like an unreachable itch that he was dying to scratch, but could not stretch his hand long enough to reach it. The expression on Ino's face was exceptionally peculiar. No, peculiar was not the exact word. It was… _odd_. He didn't even catch a glimpse of Ino for the next two days, though he sometimes saw Shikamaru and Chouji in a tow towards the cafeteria. Naruto wanted to ask them about the kunoichi's whereabouts and if Ino had possibly jumped off the balcony or something but there was always some inexplicable raison d'êtres that held him back from doing just that.

He was distracted from training and even Orochimaru was slightly forgotten.

This was really beginning to piss him off.

(-)

The fifth day had arrived.

Inside the small room, with the unsolved riddle hanging from the wall, Naruto stared at Sasuke and Sakura, who were both staring back at him with an unusual air of vigour. The blonde switched his attention back to the two scrolls in his hands, unconsciously chewing on his lower lip as he tried to predict of what would happen once they opened the scrolls. After a deafening silence in which each pair of eyes were latched expectantly at the two shabby scrolls, Naruto's eyebrow twitched and he firmly gripped the sealed ends of the scrolls and ripped them open, only to reveal two identical summoning circles.

A cloud of smoke erupted from the two scrolls.

Dropping the scrolls and instinctively jumping back, Naruto coughed violently as he waved a hand to clear the smoke from screening his vision. An indistinct outline of a figure pricked up his wariness and the blonde crouched on all four, ready to be the first one to attack if the figure turned out to be an enemy. Maybe it had been another trick from Orochimaru. He could vaguely heard Sakura asking what the hell had happened and Sasuke's silent hiss as he too, had noticed the blurry figure. As the smoke cleared out, the figure took a step forward and Naruto's face broke into a grin.

It was Iruka-sensei.

"Sensei! What are you doing here?" the blonde asked with a mixture of amusement and confusion, stepping forward to greet his former teacher.

Iruka smiled fondly and ruffled Naruto's golden spikes, nodding at Sakura and Sasuke. The smile on his scarred face widened as he answered, "I volunteered to be your team's summoned instructor. I'm glad to inform you that Team Seven had qualified through the second stage of the Chuunin Exam. Congratulation, the three of you."

TBC

A/N:

I have no whatsoever excuse for this late update except WORK. Tons of work! I never knew that working in a bookstore could be so draining! It's practically killing my social life, not that I have one to begin with…

Don't know if you guys are already tired of waiting so really, I apologize for this late update. And the short chapter. I'm slacking off a lot nowadays it seems. You're free to either stone or tomato me to death. I'm guilty to the accusation of excessive procrastination…

REVIEWS! How long has it been!

**nonengel: **Saa… it's good to know that someone missed this story. I'm glad that you liked the Seal idea because hey, I like it to! (is stupid) Those fics that I've read about Naruto's other Secret Family and Stuff never mentioned the manipulation towards the Seal so I thought I'd do one. Though I must say that the argument between Naru and Ino came out of the blue. Not the kind of 'interaction' that you were waiting for, eh?

**One Azn Dragon:** (indignantly) I'm sure that refused-san will look absolutely… um, _knightly_ in shining armour! Sorry for the late update though; work's a nagging bitch.

**Skuld's Sentaro2:** I'm stupid, really. My fault for the gender mix-up. Though you said 'Don't worry', I'm still worrying… I'm a bad, bad person… Hey, I hope you enjoy the chapter and your birthday. I'll keep that in mind.

**BlackBodian: **I'm updating, and to say I'm touched by your review is an understatement. And you have some pretty good points there. About the kids not really afraid of Naruto, I think I'll have to improve more on that. I admit that's one of the many flaws. And the powerful jutsus… If Naruto starts showing off some really complicated and possibly forbidden jutsus, won't it alarm the older shinobis and the Elders? I mean, they already know that he had Kyuubi and well, him knowing those jutsus without any visible guidance will cause suspicion, no? That's what I'm heading on, anyway. Feel free to mail me if there's more things that bugged you. I'd love to read them and improve. Thanks again.

**Sunhawk:** It's getting really tiring to repeat the same thing over and over again. I already mentioned _several _times that this is an AU, well, sort of. And people _do_ know that Kyuubi was imprisoned inside him. They _know_. Okay?

**Chedving:** I was wondering who you are! And then, I checked the old reviews and lo! Ice Dragon-san! It's been quite some time, ne? Sorry about lacking the usual spirit, though. All those battle scenes were so draining to write and I had to literally force myself to finish it. I'll try to do better next time! It's nice to hear from you again.

And to the others;

**Cobra-100, BlackMercy, Gopu, TimeReaper, FightingDestiny, Kitsune-Itai, the-best-of-everything, Bellatrix-Vecours, **

Thanks a lot for your support!

See you in the next chapter!

Kaara


	15. In Between

**Title:** Fighting All Odds

**By:** Kaara

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

**Summary so far:** After emerging alive from the Forest of Death (note the irony), Naruto found himself in another argument with Ino, who asked him earlier about what had happened while he fought with Orochimaru.

**Notes:**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

**(-) **: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

**Chapter Fourteen: In Between.**

(Timeline: Roughly at the same time Team Seven arrived at the Tower.)

Kakashi stood waiting as Sandaime carefully placed a worn scroll into the drawer of his desk before he locked it, a grim expression etched onto the old man's wrinkled face. The silver-haired Jounin had been summoned earlier by a recently promoted Chuunin to report to the Hokage before the start of the Preliminary Round. Pretty much confused and curious by the sudden order, Kakashi had reluctantly abandoned his earlier intention to check on Sasuke and Naruto's condition. He was worried about the seal that Orochimaru had placed on Sasuke but was even more worried about Naruto, as Ibiki had confronted him after the finish of the first exam. And 'confronted' was an understatement.

Much to his chagrin, he couldn't find any excuse for Naruto's crimson, Kyuubi-like eyes.

"_I saw it myself, Kakashi. There's something wrong with that boy!" _

_He had never seen Ibiki this frantic and frankly, it was not a pretty sight. Kakashi raised his hands, trying to calm the other Jounin. "I can't explain; I've never seen him do that. Besides, he had been acting kinda… strange lately. Detached, actually."_

_Ibiki snorted in obvious contempt. "You better keep an eye on him, Kakashi. If Kyuubi had somehow managed to influence the vessel, then—"_

"_Naruto's stronger than that," Kakashi's visible eye flashed warning and he shook his head, frowning. Walking away, he waved and said, "I'm sure everything's okay, Ibiki."_

Well, so far, Kakashi had been in wrong side. Orochimaru had infiltrated the Chuunin Exam, assaulted his students and that seal on Sasuke… Nothing was okay. Anko had told him that Orochimaru needed Sasuke for a particular reason before she had been carted to the hospital by a stampede of scowling Medic nins. There must be something behind all this; something that he couldn't quite grasp and understand. Orochimaru had obviously planned all this and knowing the Snake Sannin from his infamous reputation towards chaos and revenge, it would certainly not be charity works. His fingers clenched into fists impulsively.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Snapping out of from his short trance, Kakashi blinked and stared at Sandaime. "You called?"

"There's something that I need to discuss with you," the wrinkles on the Hokage's face seemed to have deepened under the dim light inside the room and he looked older than he usually did. Sandaime exhaled wearily. "About the Hidden Sun. And Naruto."

"What about them, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi saw no connection between the two, none that he knew about. And he hated not knowing about something.

Sandaime regarded him silently. "Tell me, have you heard about the Hidden Sun before?"

"Before they suddenly participated in the Exam? No, I haven't."

"I expected that answer," the wariness in the Hokage's voice puzzled Kakashi. He stared in polite perplexity at the old man, waiting for more. "It took me quite some time to find anything remotely connected to this Hidden Village. Do you know why?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, before answering truthfully, "No."

"The Hidden Sun, Kakashi-sensei, _does not exist_."

It took him several seconds to wonder if his ears were finally damaged from Sakura's constant yells and when he realized that Sandaime was staring expectantly at him, Kakashi hastily cleared his throat and managed a feeble, "What?"

"There is nothing about this Hidden Village in the official record," Sandaime continued, pressing his fingertips together and staring at nothing in particular. "Nothing about its founder, location and most importantly, the _people_. In simpler words, the Hidden Village does not suppose to exist."

"But Daitenshi Akki and her genins—"

The Hokage waved off his interruption. "That's what it says in the _official_ record. But I personally am not convinced with such easy explanation. Daitenshi Akki was not lying when she said that she comes from the Hidden Village of Sun; there is too much honour in that woman to allow her to commit an act as disgraceful as telling lies. So, I trust her. With some help from expert historians, we have managed to find several ancient scrolls that mentioned, to quote, '_a phantom palace, unseen to the eyes that does not belong to the Blood, or those whose souls tainted by worldly sins. Mortals shied away when they feel the presence of the Guards, unliving, but undead._' Does that makes sense to you?"

In dazed fascination, the silver-haired genius nin slowly shook his head, not really trusting himself to speak. His brain was furiously trying to process the information that he had just received.

"The translation took too much time and effort. We only succeeded to understand several passages, as most of the writing had worn out through time and some of the languages are lost to us," there was regret in the old Hokage's voice and he sighed. "Kakashi-sensei, the Hidden Sun nins might have come for Naruto."

"Why?" Kakashi snapped, confused beyond what he would've usually allowed himself to be. "What's the connection between Naruto and the Hidden Sun?"

"Among those words, there are some that can be read as 'Uzumaki'. And one of the historians is almost convinced that it refers to the origin of the Hidden Village."

Kakashi gritted his teeth. "But, that is not definite."

"Yes, it's only a possibility," Sandaime leaned back into his chair and rubbed a thumb along the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "As we are already treading on the subject of Naruto, Ibiki had come to me with an interesting story earlier today."

_Shit,_ cursed the silver-haired Jounin mentally, grimacing at the piercing stare that was directed towards him. "I have heard," he nonchalantly commented.

An eyebrow rose appreciatively. "Ah, the explanation, perhaps?"

"I regret to say that I'm in no position to offer any," muttered Kakashi, eyeing the new wrinkles that lined Sandaime's face. "I'll ask Naruto later, only that I don't think he will tell me anything."

"Something wrong with Naruto, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I… can't tell," the Jounin bowed his head, sighing. "There is something that he hid from us, though I can't tell what. You might want to talk to that academy teacher. Naruto's closer to him than me."

"Iruka-sensei, you mean?" recognising the name, Kakashi nodded, his eyes trained on the Hokage. "I've already talked to him and he could tell me nothing more than you already did. The problem is that there might be something that is about to happen, something that we have no knowledge about. And I have a strange feeling that it will involve this village. As the Hokage, I have to ensure the safety of Konoha."

Silence followed those words as both shinobi pondered over the newfound information. After quite some time, Sandaime looked up and said, "I need you to interrogate someone, Kakashi-sensei. Ibiki is currently unavailable right now, as he have an important mission to carry out."

The Jounin stiffly nodded. "Who is it?"

"Daitenshi Akki."

**(-)**

Azure light lighted up as they stared pensively at Kakashi.

"And may I know the reason why you sought for my company, sensei?" Akki delicately brushed a strand of hair from obscuring her view of the grave Jounin, the hint of a smile playing on her pale lips. "I trust this have nothing to do with my pupils."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm here on a completely different matter, Daitenshi-san."

He paused, waiting for a response from the lady before him. She said and did nothing, seemingly content with smiling in that confident, shrewd manner that somehow unnerved him, her eyes dancing with carefully concealed amusement, like she was watching a particularly fascinating exhibition. Kakashi didn't like it at all. They were sitting in Akki's room, the one that was prepared in a rush after her unexpected appearance in the Hokage's office. It was situated near the garden and as they sat sipping on the tea that the lady had brewed prior to his arrival, Kakashi had a vague, uneasy feeling sinking in his stomach despite the peaceful atmosphere that enveloped them.

There was something about Akki that made him uncomfortable.

"The Hokage asked me to… make an inquiry regarding your presence here," Kakashi elaborated, grimacing at the formalities of the situation. He hated sounding formal; it was something that he had never managed to pull off successfully. Shooing away the thought, he fixed his eyes on Akki. "Our official records mention nothing of the Hidden Sun and we are curious to know your intention and sudden interest in the Chuunin Exam."

Akki inclined his head, humour flashing in her blue orbs. She poured herself another cup of tea and calmly took a sip, her eyes never quite leaving Kakashi's masked face. Placing the china cup down, she finally said, "I'm sure your _excellent_ Hokage have managed to shed some light upon the existence of my village, especially since he had summoned all the historians to his office two days ago."

Hiding his surprise, Kakashi none-too-politely growled out, "But that still doesn't explain your interest in the Chuunin Exam."

"A mere insignificance," she shrugged, bringing the cup to her lips again. "I recalled no regulation that states an inactive Hidden Village could not participate in the Exam. My pupils need the experience and I thought that this occasion is an opportunity for them to test their strength. That is all."

Kakashi barely managed to suppress a vindictive 'Bullshit' from spewing forth from his mouth, the corner of his mouth twitching subtly. He glared at the teacup presented to him earlier on, the dull golden liquid swirling obviously inside its confinement. The silence that came afterwards was neither awkward, nor was it comforting. Akki had made it clear that she had nothing more to say and Kakashi was still struggling with his unsuccessful 'interrogation'. A part of him laughed at his inability to pry open the secret, while another part was silently berating him for his carelessness.

"What about 'Uzumaki', then?" Kakashi hazarded on, figuring that he had nothing to lose as he had come this far. He intently waited for any change of expression from his companion, however slight it might be. Much to his disappointment, Akki remained as expressionless as usual, though she politely refused to answer that question by shaking her head and turning to her cup, apparently finding the utensil to be more attractive than the silver-haired Jounin.

If he was not so frustrated, Kakashi might've felt slightly offended.

The chink of china against china made him shift his attention at the lady before him. Akki smiled at him and said, rather mockingly, "Is there anything else that you wish to question me about, sensei?"

"No," the word tumbled out of his mouth reluctantly as he forced himself to stand up and headed towards the door. Kakashi paused and turned to face Akki. "Naruto belongs to Konoha." He didn't know where did that came from; what he knew was that he needed to say something. Anything just to wipe that irritating smile off that porcelain face.

Which did not quite worked out as he wished it had.

Akki's lips curved into yet another meaningful smile. "I'm sure he is."

As Kakashi closed the door softly behind him, he caught the next whispered phrase.

"For now."

**(-)**

When Kakashi had exited the room, Akki exhaled a sigh of weariness. She abandoned her seat and wondered off into the garden, staring in thoughtful fascination at the greenery around her. The peaceful tranquillity lulled her into a false sense of security and despite its attempt to be discreet, the azure-eyed lady was well aware of it. Though instead of chasing the feeling away, she embraced it willingly, relishing in the soft breeze and the steady rhythm of water sloshing against the edge of a miniscule pond in the middle of the garden. Nature captivated her; the effortlessness in all its action. So much different from the harsh, calculating action of mortals that she had been accustomed to.

_"Akki. Your name reflects your nature, your difference that sets you apart. 'Evil' is subjective, nothing but a word once you are strong enough to withstand the pressure of being unlike others. I named you the way as I deemed fit. But remember, Akki, you choose who you wish to be. Not me, not your mother, not your sisters. YOU."_

"Father, you saw this coming, didn't you?" her voice rode lightly above the whisper of wind, laced with a tinge sorrow. She stood watching as the sun set, painting the sky with a myriad of colours. Orange, red, yellow… blending into one indescribable hue as the magnificent orb of burning fire sunk deeper into the far horizon. The dying glow further accentuated the delicate curves of her physique, the end of her dark green obi and the ghostly presence looming protectively, possessively above her.

A sudden gush of wind blew her hair askew, revealing a blood red tattoo pulsating on the back of her neck.

A sealing tattoo.

**TBC**

A/N:

Before anyone harpoon me for not updating, I have to smooth out some things. First, I had a cold. A really, nasty, terrible one. And then, I got better. Only to had an accident and got hospitalised. Not only that those hospital foods are terrible and my ward was somewhat close to the morgue (it was not at all comforting, if you know what I mean), I had a massive writer block. I couldn't write and couldn't get access to Internet.

It was atrociously HELLISH!

And that is an understatement.

So, I'm really not in the mood for flames. Also to answer reviews. You really should thank Neko-chan for posting this. She smuggled her laptop through my mother's stern patronage. I know that this chapter didn't have any Naruto or Ino action in it but I need to break the block.

But the next chapter is coming soon! That I can at least promise you.

Unless I suddenly got food poisoning or crack my head against the bedpost.

If you love me, review for my sake. Pretty please? (puppy eyes)

Kaara


	16. The First Match

**Title:** Fighting All Odds

**By:** Kaara

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

**Summary so far:** After emerging alive from the Forest of Death (note the irony), Naruto found himself in another argument with Ino, who asked him earlier about what had happened while he fought with Orochimaru. Had a fight, got angry and stomped off. The Preliminary Match begins!

**Notes:**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

**(-) **: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

**Chapter Fifteen: The First Match.**

"— and so, the Chuunin Examination was established to help—"

Naruto glowered darkly as Sandaime continued on with his spectacularly boring and uninteresting speech, honestly thinking that those entire unity-peace thing to be a complete and utter crap. He was not interested in any of that political shit. There was something much more urgent that he wanted to deal with at that time. He glanced to his far left, where Team Ten stood talking to one another. Ino was gesturing something to Chouji, while Shikamaru thoughtfully nodded his head. The kunoichi tilted her head up when she sensed someone glaring at her, her eyes meeting those of Naruto's in a brief glare match. There was a flicker of _something_ in her blue orbs before she broke their eye contact and turned to speak to Shikamaru, pretending as though she hadn't seen Naruto.

The blond snarled and looked sharplyaway.

It had been like that since the night Ino had stalked off angrily from their brief heated argument. She had been blatantly avoiding Naruto ever since and Shikamaru, in a rather disbelieving tone, had told him that she complained of headache and had missed lunch whenever the pony-tailed genin invited Naruto along. The blond, being his usual stubborn self, refused to say anything more, still very much pissed off about Ino's remark on 'his insecurity issues'. _I did not have insecurity issues!_ Naruto spat out vindictively for the umpteenth times that day, fingers balling into fists at the unpleasant recollection.

And now, the Hokage had conveniently informed them that because there were too many participants left to battle in Third Round, they had to conduct a Preliminary Round to eliminate some weaker sods in order to have sufficient amount of genins inside the last round as there will be guesses from other countries to watch the Third (and last) Round of the Chuunin Exam. They were called to gather inside the building after Iruka-sensei finished explaining the riddle to them, and had to listen to Sandaime's dull speech before they could start the Preliminary Round. All the teachers were there, standing before them silently as the Hokage droned on. There was no mentioning of Orochimaru's attacks inside the old man's long rambles and Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that not many knew about that incident except those that were directly involved inside it. The management was trying to hush it all up. At that thought, the blond snickered darkly.

_At least I can kick extra asses along the way,_ Naruto mused, apparently pleased by the arrangements. He ran a hand over his white, sleeveless shirt and lingered on his stomach, growling in deep resentment at his many unsuccessful attempts to lift the Snake Sannin's seal. His fingers hovered above that said spot for a few seconds, before he stuffed his hands inside the pair of black jeans that he wore. _I'll win… for Kyuubi._

Sasuke was standing in front of him, with Sakura by his side. Naruto's eyes trailed to the Uchiha's pale neck and to the tattoo courtesy of Orochimaru, smirking when he saw Sasuke placing a trembling hand over the throbbing tattoo and at the drops of sweat that dotted Sasuke's forehead. His pink-haired team mate had told him about that when they were still in speaking terms (while trying to stay alive and find their way to the Tower), seeing that for the last four days they had spent in the Tower had resulted in an end of whatever existent relationship between them. They were still a team, but Naruto knew that Team Seven was naught but three separate individuals with three separate ideals by that time. He had no problem with that, knowing that the next rounds of the Chuunin Exam did not require them to fight as a team anymore. It actually worked quite well for his advantages, as he didn't have to worry about failing the exam if one of his two teammates screwed up in any possible way.

He had planned to step out from Team Seven and Kakashi's command after the Exam. It wasn't much of an impulsive act anyway; Naruto had started to contemplate doing what he would do even before the start of the Exam. After he had gained the Chuunin title, the blond wouldn't need their support anymore. He would have a free hand to work his way up to be a Jounin, as he would've liked to. It was Kyuubi's advice._ No more interference from pesky teammates and that pervert of a teacher_. He shifted his attention to the teachers before them, grinning when he saw Iruka-sensei winking at him. Kakashi was also there, his masked face revealed no expression whatsoever as his half-lidded, visible eye glazed over at the long speech. There was no sign of the raven-haired woman that Naruto had seen before they began Ibiki's psychosis exam, though the blond couldn't decide if he felt relieved or disappointed to know that the woman was not there. He had spotted the Sun genins when they clustered together earlier, and that red-haired girl had waved merrily at him, whilst his green-haired teammate merely grinned and the silver-haired one regarded him coldly.

They were really starting to get to his nerves.

Especially after their 'help' in the Forest of Death.

Naruto shook his head at the unpleasant memory, trying not to think of where those genins might be at that time. His eyes fell on the longhaired teacher with a Sound head protector and he froze at the sight of the teacher's eyes. _It looks like Orochimaru's… damn, what am I thinking? He can't be here. That snake bastard's probably hiding his ass right now, what with those Anbu squads sent to capture him._

The Sound teacher, as if aware of the attention he received from Naruto turned his head and smirked at the blond genin, the tip of his tongue lightly touching his lower lip. Naruto gritted his teeth and looked away, trying to occupy his mind with something else than thoughts concerning Orochimaru. He had enough of them to last him a single lifetime and he never planned to be haunted by those mocking laughter forever. He would deal his revenge to Orochimaru later. Naruto unconsciously exhaled in relief when Sandaime finished his speech, retreating silently to Anko's side. A shinobi puffed into existence before them to replace the Hokage, the pale face and dark circles underneath his eyes succeeded in making him look like a sick person more than ever.

"My name is Hayate, and I'll be your referee for today's matches," the nin announced, his eyes watching them carefully under the black bandanna that he wore. "Before we start the random shuffling for opponents, is there any of you that wish to quit the Exam? This is the last time to do so before we start the Preliminary Round."

Naruto snorted. _That's a really useless question. I don't think anyone would want to—_

"I want to back out."

The blond blinked and sharply turned to the source of that voice. He narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of Kabuto's raised hand. _It's the guy with those cards info thing. Why'd he want to quit? It seems… pointless, after all the fuss with the Forest of Death._

Kabuto commented something about backing down because of the injuries he acquired after the second stage of Chuunin Exam but Naruto found that reason to be rather stupid. He noticed the glances that Anko exchanged with the Hokage and suspicion immediately rooted itself to his mind. Anko read something from the file she had on hand to Sandaime while Kabuto talked to his teammates, though Naruto noticed that his eyes were fixed on that Sound teacher. That made his curiosity magnified in amount. The bespectacled genin walked out through the set of huge doors as soon as Hayate dismissed him, glancing over his shoulder to mutter a round of good luck to the other Leaf genins with a well-meant smile. Naruto followed the retreating genin until the door closed behind Kabuto, leaving a deafening silence to envelope the room.

"Anybody else who wants to quit?" Hayate repeated, coughing lightly as he did so. Sakura shot Sasuke a worried glance but said nothing. After a considerable amount of time, the sickly referee nodded his head and said, "That's that, then. Well, it's just about the perfect number to have. The Preliminary Round is going to consist of one-on-one matches. Seven teams made it through and that originally sums up to twenty-one genins. Now that Kabuto had backed down, there will be ten matches between the remaining twenty genins. There will be no rule applied to the matches, and it will continue until one of the opponents died, defeated or surrendered. Besides that, I will stop the match if the winner is already obvious so that unnecessary killings can be avoided. Now, let me introduce something that will determine your fate."

Naruto looked up when a loud, rumbling noise echoed inside the room. A portion of the wall automatically moved to reveal a built-in gigantic monitor, its dark screen flashing under the glare of light. Hayate gestured forward and continued, "This board is going to shuffle your names randomly, so that the fights are not going to be biased. Let's see who are going to fight in the first match."

Names flashed around the screen for several seconds until only two names were fixated on the dark surface. Naruto snickered when he saw who secured the first match.

It was Sasuke versus some Yoroi guy.

Sakura hastily whispered something to Sasuke, who was tightly clutching the tattoo that marred his neck. The Uchiha snapped at her, causing tears to pool inside her green irises as she muttered something to the raven-haired genin. Naruto arched an eyebrow in half-interest and fold his arms against his chest, waiting to see the end of that. He knew that Sakura was worried about Sasuke's condition and that weird tattoo thing, courtesy of Orochimaru but Naruto didn't want to say anything. He was through with feeling sorry for others when they never felt anything except resentment, fear and all negative feelings synonymous to the mentioned two towards him. A few muttered words from Sasuke and Sakura's shoulder slumped in defeat, one hand wiping over the tears that brimmed her eyes as the Uchiha stepped forward to meet his opponent.

Yoroi was one of Kabuto's teammates, supporting a pair of dark glasses and a black cloth covering the lower half of his face. Hayate coughed again and addressed the rest of the waiting genins, "Now we shall start the first match. Everyone else, please wait for your turn on the second floor."

Other teams started clearing out from the arena at the order, reunited with their teachers and chatted away as they went to the balcony overhead them. Kakashi had walked past Sasuke, muttering some advises under his breath to the young Uchiha, who reluctantly nodded in respond as his clutch on the tattoo tightened. Sakura was heading towards the stairs that led her to the left balcony, rubbing at her moist eyes and smiled at Kakashi. They stared at Naruto when Kakashi paused after he finally realized that the blond was nowhere around them, narrowing his eye as Naruto decided against following Sakura, taking the right stairs instead. The blond ignored Kakashi's questioning stare and mounted the stairs thoughtfully, unaware of the curious looks that were thrown his way from other Konoha teachers.

He wanted to be alone, where he could freely think without being interrupted by either Sakura's persistent questioning or her gut-churning sobs. Naruto leaned on the metal railing when he reached the balcony, looking down at the two genins and Hayate. The referee was stating something to both genin, and they nodded in unison. Team Ten was also there (much to his annoyance) but they were too busy talking to their bearded sensei to disturb the blond, though Naruto was conscious of a glare sent his way from a certain kunoichi before she tuned back to her sensei. There was also the Sand nins, the red-haired kid with a giant gourd staring at him in well-hidden interest while his two team mates stood quite some distance from him. Their teacher was eyeing the redheaded genin warily. Naruto sighed and turned, his elbows resting on the railing only to stare straight into a pair of twinkling ruby eyes. The blond inwardly groaned at his luck.

"We meet again," Shakaku announced unnecessarily, grinning at the peeved look on Naruto's face. She stood with her back against the wall, her teammates catching up with the redhead. Raiu grinned at Naruto, while Ryuujin settled on a cold glare and a nod. Naruto glared back.

The green-haired kunoichi leaned on the railing, her eyes on the three figures readying for the first battle. She turned to Naruto. "That's your teammate, right?"

"Yeah, the _infamous_ Pretty Boy Uchiha," the blond spat out, eyes narrowing. Sasuke had charged to meet Yoroi in a frontal assault, grimacing in pain when the older genin flipped him over and brought the raven-haired Uchiha down. He looked up from the fight and noticed the confusion on Raiu's face. "What?"

"I don't think he's _that_ pretty," Raiu earnestly retorted, her emerald eyes regarding Naruto in a way that made Naruto uncomfortable. Then, her face broke into a grin and much to his horror, she proclaimed loudly, "I think you're way cuter."

Shakaku was laughing so hard at the remark that she could barely stand up and a smirk had graced Ryuujin's lips at the sight of Naruto gaping at a grinning Raiu. The blonde's left eyebrow twitched, helplessly aware of blood rushing to his head, particularly to his cheeks. Ino was glaring his way; apparently, she had heard Raiu and had the same look of disbelief painted on her face. The Sand nins spared them a glance, before turning their attention to the fight below. Thoughts of bloody murder coursed inside Naruto's head like a gushing stream, fingers flexed in a very-much feral way. Raiu noticed this and raised her hands in a defensive stance, her grin turned from mischievous to sheepish almost at once and the mischievous twinkles in her eyes doubled in amount.

"Hey, I was telling you the truth," she said, raising her shoulders and winking at her teammates. Shakaku was still laughing. "No need to kill the messenger."

Naruto spluttered, a growl sounding deep in his throat. He looked away from the green-haired menace, cheeks flaming red. "Whatever."

He was just in time to see Sasuke being overpowered by Yoroi, the Uchiha struggling against the grip Yoroi had on his forehead. Naruto tilted his head to a side when Sasuke continued to thrash about futilely, the genin's arm growing weaker with every passing second. "What's wrong with him? He's not that weak…"

"Yoroi is able to absorb his opponents' chakra by placing his palm over them," a voice came from his right. Naruto stole a glance and saw Shakaku leaning besides him. She jerked her chin towards the fight. "Did you notice that glow on his right hand? I've seen him did that in the Forest to another team."

Naruto smirked. "Butting into another fight?"

Shakaku shrugged at the accusation. "We didn't have to. That team was too weak anyway. That friend of yours—"

"He's not my friend," Naruto hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits as Sasuke kicked Yoroi away, gasping for breath when the other genin easily skidded to a halt and crouched for another attack. Sakura's words of support rang loudly inside the room. His knuckles had turned white from his death grip at the metal railing, bitterness boiling inside him. "He _never_ will be."

Raising an eyebrow, the redhead placed her chin on an open palm as she continued to watch the fight, seemingly ignorance of the hatred that she had sensed in Naruto's voice. Shakaku turned to her green-haired teammate. "What do you think that Uchiha should do, Raiu?"

"Use a jutsu," Raiu snickered cheekily as she said so, her eyes glinting in malice. "Oh, I forgot. He can't, because of that seal on his neck, right? Poor, little Uchiha."

Naruto didn't even want to ask how she had known about Orochimaru's seal, though he smirked when he heard Raiu calling Sasuke, 'Poor, little Uchiha'. It was amusing, so to say. These Sun genins puzzled Naruto with their nonchalant attitude towards everything and the way they kept popping out of thin air just to annoy him. They didn't seem to worry about anything too, nor did they take the Exam seriously like the others. He was starting to think that the three foreign genins had something else as an objective instead of the Chuunin title.

"Physical attack, while keeping his distance," another voice joined in, this one radiated nothing but disinterest. Ryuujin had moved forward, his icy silver eyes trained on the two genins below. "He should've known that for now."

As if hearing Ryuujin's comment just then, Sasuke's boot crashed into Yoroi's chin when the older genin charged forward, confidence once again flashing in the Uchiha's eyes to replace the brief look of uncertainty that he had adopted earlier in the match. Naruto briefly caught sight of the disbelief on Lee's face at the move and he concluded spitefully that Sasuke had used the Sharingan to copy Lee's technique. Sasuke pushed himself up to meet Yoroi in mid air and raised his arm for an attack. That was when Naruto noticed the weird tattoo started growing in with such rapidity on Sasuke's skin, his pale face contorted in pain as he fought to control the seal. Sakura was yelling something from the balcony, while Kakashi and Anko had a similar worried look etched onto their faces as they looked up at the battle. Naruto vaguely heard Raiu whistling in appreciation as he was too immersed in watching Sasuke, no… watching the seal. His eyes gleamed when he saw the tattoo slowly receding and Sasuke continued with his earlier intention of pounding Yoroi's to early defeat using some sort of a fancy chain attack.

Uchiha Sasuke was declared the winner.

Naruto placed a hand over his belly unconsciously; unaware of three pairs of eyes that watched him as he did so. Kakashi escorted Sasuke out of the arena, one hand clamped the weird tattoo as the silver-haired Jounin steered him into another room. The blonde's eyes followed those two figures until they disappeared, before he looked down at his hand that was hovering closely to the spot of his seal. Maybe, just maybe… he can control the seal Orochimaru placed on him like that. _But the appliance seemed different…_

Still, there was hope. Until someone chose that very time to spoke out.

"Uchiha's seal is different from yours."

The blond snarled and swivelled in a flash, a fist aimed for the redhead besides him. A hand caught his fist before it managed to connect with anything solid and he narrowed his eyes threateningly at Raiu, who had materialised in front of Shakaku to defend her teammate and had her fingers closed around Naruto's fist. The playful glints in her eyes had disappeared, traded into an inner fire seen only in the eyes of a born fighter. Her other hand ghosted over her katana and Naruto could see that the green-haired Sun would not hesitate to fight him then and there if the need ever arise. She was that type of loyal comrade, Naruto suddenly realized. _Like a faithful little dog she is,_ he spat out mentally. Ryuujin didn't move an inch from his spot against the wall but Naruto saw the genin's eyes fixed on him in a warning glare. Shakaku, meanwhile, was staring at him in amusement.

"It looks like you have developed a fascinating dislike towards truth, Naruto," she quipped, her smile widening when he narrowed his eyes in retaliation. She ran a hand over her flaming red strands of hair and sighed. "Raiu, you can let him go now."

Her teammate complied immediately and moved to lean besides Ryuujin, whispering something to the other genin. Her silver-haired teammate nodded and whispered back. Naruto glared at the green-haired genin, clenching and unclenching his fingers in rapid succession to dispel the pain from Raiu's fingers pressed into his. He saw Shakaku waving and shaking her head at someone, cursing mentally when he saw the sensei for Team Ten made a motion to come over towards them but was assured not to do so by the smiling redhead. The scuffle between them had attracted the attention of the nearest group of genins and unfortunately, Naruto found himself staring into the depths of Ino's eyes. The kunoichi shook her head and looked away, something close to disappointment playing on her face.

Shakaku witnessed the exchange silently before saying, "She believes in you, didn't she?"

"Shut up," the blond growled, brows knitted into a dark frown.

"Not everybody is against you, you know," the redhead flicked off his death glare with a grin and supported her chin with the back of one hand. "And I know what I was saying about those seals."

"Fuck off. You don't know anything."

Sighing deeply in mock pain, Shakaku pressed her hand to a spot where her heart would be if she had one. "Now, now, no need to be nasty. I was just trying to help you."

"I don't need your help," retorted Naruto, his frown darkening. "Leave me alone."

The screen was shuffling more names by then, blurs of white flashing against the dark surface and Shakaku paused to see who would fight next. Naruto smirked and arched an eyebrow at the smiling redhead besides him when the names halted to a stop.

Gouka Shakaku VS Dosu.

**TBC **

A/N:

(glomps everyone) I love all of you! I really do! (throws Kyuubi plushies everywhere) I have recovered, thanks to all your support and reviews! There is nothing that I love best than reviews and my reviewers! (glomps everyone again) Thank you!

Gouka means hell fire.

Shakaku means angel of fire.

So, yeah… she's fixated on flames, that one.

Before I forget, have anyone heard from **refused**? He's been missing for some time now and I'm… kinda… worried. (pouts at **One Azn Dragon**) Ne, have you been in contact with him? Ne?

Reviews! (glomps again and again) Reviews!

To everyone who wished me well;

**FightingDestiny, Black-Hood, seeker, BigAznDaddy99, nonengel, Monaki-cheung, The Librarian's Assistant **(I'm always afraid of one of you, you keeps yelling at me for not returning those books I borrowed) **LordLans, Crimsonredeyes, Shinji-Higurashi, Night-Owl123, deathtraps, Randomikari, Chedving, suno-tenshi, maxhrk, WhiteKnight, Uzumaki Ouka, jpthug12, panuru4u **and** mrasdfghj **(what is it with you guys' names!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH! You have no idea how your words supported me through all that nasty-medicine-and-dead-bodies experience! I'm forever indebted to you!

**Black:** (sighs) About the forbidden shit, I did mention about it in my note. Naruto stole the Forbidden Scroll, Kyuubi remember the contents and they practiced those jutsus later before the start of the Chuunin Exam. Guess you should read them next time, eh? And for not being able to keep track of my OCs because you didn't read though my -darn- story, it's really easy actually. I only have four OCs; three genins and one posed as their teacher. Three go into Exam, one stay out and watch. I don't understand what's so hard about keeping track with them. They'll appear when they are needed in the plot. When they're not important, they will be doing something else or kicking someone else's ass.

**Manatheron:** Really, I'm flattered. I think that saying pretty much conveys this fic, in a different aspect. Say, where did you get it anyway? Care to share it with me? (is curious)

**Shadow-Sensei:** Have you find your way back yet? The Road of Life… I often got lost too but now, I had a guide. (pokes Neko-chan) And cliffhangers are really fun, I like them too when I'm not the one who's reading the fic because those things are pure evil. And thanks for your encouragement! (glomps Shadow-Sensei)

**Blazer-6:** I'm having fun bashing them (smirks evilly), so you don't worry. I'm glad to hear from you again, though and really sorry for the short chapters. Muses are abandoning from me these days…. (sighs)

**sephynarutocloud:** If I have a heart, I would get offended by you calling me 'Bastard', but as I don't have one so it doesn't really matter. I'm updating, dammit!

**Skuld's Sentaro4: **I just don't understand why do you keep changing accounts… Is there something wrong? Or… are you an alien in disguise? (laughs) Just kidding! You're one of my beloved reviewers and I'll love you forever! (huggles) Thankies for all those nice things you said for me, it really meant a lot.

**Virgil:** I finally have time to write through all these mess I call my life, so don't worry. I hope I can write often like this. Keep reading, ne?

**Kanemi:** Concerning those grammatical errors, I really don't know what to do about them. I checked the story once before I posted it and I don't have a beta reader. So, you just have to live with it.

**Keltosh:** Keltosh-san! (tackles and glomps Keltosh) Me want to hear from you again! Me misses you sooo much!

I guess that's that, then. Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!

Kaara


	17. Sun Against Sound and The Eternal Rivals

**Title:** Fighting All Odds

**By:** Kaara

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

**Summary so far:** The Preliminary Round has begun and Sasuke had sailed through the first match. Naruto was saddled with the Sun genins, before the next match unravelled an oncoming battle between one of the Sun against one of the Sound.

**Notes:**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

**(-) **: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

xxx

**Chapter Sixteen: Sun Against Sound and The Eternal Rivals.**

xxx

Murmurs of conversation greeted the verdict of the random shuffle, many curious stares were directed at the electronic board as the two genins that would be pitted against each other were from two hidden villages that was either newly-formed or unknown to most part of the contestants. It was a match that intrigued many of those who were there.

_Shakaku vs Dosu _

"Aw, man! I was hoping that I could go last," complained the redheaded genin as she pouted at her teammates, who had expressions that varied from gleeful mischief and cold indifference on their faces. Her sparkling ruby eyes found their way to a smugly smirking Naruto and Shakaku grinned. "Nice annoying you, Naruto. I'm sure we'll have more time in the future to get to know each other. Ta ta for now!"

Naruto ignored her comment and diverted his attention to the arena below, where Dosu had already stood besides Hayate. The bandaged genin seemed to be looking forward to his fight with Shakaku, perhaps because of the fact that the Sun genins had interfered in the fight inside the Forest of Death and therefore, be one of the many reasons why they had failed to kill Uchiha Sasuke. Dosu was clearly seeking for revenge. From the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Shakaku walked past Team Ten (Ino wished the redhead good luck) and descended the stairs with confident grace, braid flicking behind her like the tail of a refined lioness. She was no longer the playful redhead that fibbed with him earlier; she was, at that time, a proud genin from the Hidden Sun and the participant of the Chuunin Exam.

Shakaku halted to a stop in front of Hayate, smiling down at Dosu as she was a good fifteen inches taller than the other genin. Her smile held nothing but simple acceptance, devoid of any hints of arrogance or apprehension. Naruto noticed that the redhead didn't carry any type of weaponry with her, be it simple kunai and shuriken or anything out of the ordinary that some genins used. Her jacket had no pockets or holsters and neither does her pants, excluding the fine silver chain circling her hip in several loops. Shakaku's posture was that of a relaxed stance, one hand hung limply by her side while another was brushing a mop of red hair from her face in a nonchalant gesture. She nodded when Hayate addressed something to both genins.

Hayate took a few steps back and announced, "Begin!"

The Sun and Sound immediately leaped backward, creating a wide gap between them as they circled one another like a pair of hungry wolves, waiting for the right moment and opportunity to deliver the first blow. Though Shakaku was annoying and a downright pain in the ass, Naruto focused his entire attention on the match because he knew that the redhead was as strong as she was annoying. He wanted to evaluate _how_ strong she was. Raiu had leaned besides him as though she had forgotten about their brief clash. She didn't offer any witty remark this time, but was watching Shakaku with a glimmer of admiration in her emerald eyes. Naruto was slightly surprised by this. Raiu didn't really strike him as a closet admirer, especially not over her own teammate.

Naruto shifted his eyes just in time to see Dosu making the first move. The bandaged genin had raised his armed hand and blasted a wave of sound towards Shakaku in his attempt to catch the redhead by surprise. Unable to actually see the physical shape of the wave, Shakaku had no choice but to raise her arms in defence and was thrown back to the wall by the impact. She staggered to stand on her feet, coughing and shaking her head as she covered her mouth with a hand. The redhead looked like she had her wind knocked out of her. Dosu smirked in victory, advancing forward in a rapid speed to gain the upper hand in the match. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw a grin permeating Shakaku's face, concealed from the oblivious Dosu by her hand but was visible to those who was watching on the balcony.

"She's faking it," he whispered in unintended awe, a speck of respect worming its way into his head. _She made Bandage Head thought that she'd been knocked down, baiting him to charge and expose his weakness. That's really clever._

True to his prediction, Shakaku evaded the punch from Dosu at the very last second and slipped into his guard, bringing her fist up to deliver a swift uppercut. Dosu retreated in a flash, barely avoiding the blow and saved himself from earning an early knock out. He drew several kunai and hurled those towards Shakaku to stall some time, preparing his Sound Booster for another attack. The redhead effortlessly sidestepped the metal assault and grinned for a split second, her fingers promptly weaving into a set of complex hand seals as she matched Dosu's movement. With the distance between them fairly reduced to a meagre three feet, Shakaku completed the hand seals and slowed her pace until she stopped. Dosu followed her lead, waiting for the jutsu.

"Hijutsu: Fushichou Doki no Jutsu!" (Secret Technique: Phoenix Wrath)

A shrill inhuman screech resounded out of nowhere, forcing the spectators to wince and cover their ears lest they wish to be momentarily deafened. Naruto flinched but kept his eyes trained on Shakaku in anticipation. He took a step back when he saw something emerging from the redhead's back, something that looked like pair of flaming red wings, followed by the full form of a renowned mythical bird. The bird tossed its magnificent head fiercely when it was fully detached from Shakaku, who grimaced in slight pain as she stretched her hand and allowed the phoenix to perch on the hand. The phoenix was a little bigger than a full-grown eagle, with eight beautiful tails that trailed onto the concrete floor. Naruto arched an eyebrow in amazement; he didn't even bother hiding it from the two Sun genins close to him.

Ryuujin snorted and muttered, "Shakaku is just showing off. She didn't even need to use that jutsu if she's serious."

"Oh, shush you," admonished his green-haired teammate, whose eyes were glued at the redhead. "I like this jutsu. That phoenix is so beautiful."

Naruto smiled at the tone of her voice but said nothing as he continued eyeing Shakaku. Dosu was gaping at the redhead and the bird on her hand, apparently at a loss of words. Other genins and teachers were in a somewhat similar state, staring dumbly at the Sun genin and her newfound 'pet'. Hayate was eyeing the bird warily from a distance.

"You need a fowl to help you?" Dosu sneered after he finally snapped out of his shock, uneasiness evident in his voice even though he tried to hide it. "How pathetic. And here I thought you're a threat."

Shakaku gently stroked the phoenix's head, before turning to her opponent. "Phoenixes are intelligent creatures, and they understand our language. Insulting one is not a very wise move, you know."

Waving off the warning, the Sound genin scoffed loudly. "A fowl's a fowl." With that, he launched forward, a close combat in mind.

Before Dosu could get any closer to the redhead, the phoenix took flight with another of its inhuman, eardrums-splitting screech and suddenly grown five times its original size as the flames of its wings flared brighter than ever. Talons gleaming under the glare of light, the phoenix charged towards Dosu with a shrill cry. The bandaged genin raised his Sound Booster to wipe out the annoying bird, unaware to the fact that Shakaku had disappeared from her spot. The phoenix emitted another long screech and turned sharply to avoid the wave of sound blasted by Dosu, whose smirk faltered when he saw the phoenix heading back towards him. One of the inconveniences in using the Sound Booster was that it took quite a while to set up the weapon for another attack and with that homicidal bird hot on his trail, the Sound genin swallowed hard.

In his panic, Dosu completely missed the shadow slipping silently behind him. It was too late when he finally did. Shakaku gave the stunned genin a view of her grin and crashed her knuckles into the bandaged face, breaking Dosu's nose and other bones supporting the unseen face underneath his many rolls of gauze. While the Sound genin rolled in pure agony on the floor (cussing and clutching at his face), the redhead kneeled and with an insane grin on her face, took a handful of Dosu's bandage. The grin widening as a sign of what was to come, she mercilessly rammed his head into the nearest wall. A sickening crack echoed, though no one could tell if it was from Dosu's head or because of the crater on the innocent wall. A deafening silence followed the crack, as Hayate rushed to examine the still form of Dosu.

He raised his head and signalled for some Medic nins to come forward. "He's alive. Bring in the stretcher." Straightening up, Hayate declared Shakaku of the Hidden Sun to be the winner of the second match.

Shakaku smiled in accomplishment and cancelled her jutsu, the phoenix combusting into a sphere of flames that burnt for a few seconds before diminishing slowly. She ascended the stairs with the same grace she had when she went down earlier, only that there were eyes that followed the redhead's movement at that time. Dosu was carted out of the arena by a group of Medic nins, who were gingerly taking off the bloody bandages from the unconscious genin. Smiling back at Ino, Shakaku made her way to her team and Naruto without anymore interruption from other teams. Raiu greeted her with an enthusiastic 'Congratulation!'. She exhaled deeply and leaned besides Naruto, sandwiching the blond between two Sun genins. Raiu at one side, and she was at another. Naruto was starting to wonder if he had what people called, 'animal magnetism'. With their enthusiasm to get as near as possible to him, it was almost possible.

"Great fight," Naruto commented lightly, not wanting to sound impressed. Even if he was, he didn't want the redhead to gloat over it or something. _That'll make her even more annoying than ever._

Shakaku nodded, looking ahead. "It's not that bad."

Somewhere from behind them, Ryuujin interjected, "You shouldn't have used that jutsu. It was unnecessary."

"Well, it makes the fight a bit more lively," the redhead retorted, glancing over her shoulder to grin at the silver-haired genin. "Seriously, Ryuujin, you really should stop being a killjoy. It's unhealthy."

Ryuujin 'Hmph'-ed and looked away.

"He's always such fun to pick on," Shakaku declared, earning her a death glare from the said genin. She smiled at Naruto and stared at the electronic board that was shuffling more names by that time. "Wonder who's fighting next…"

She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

_Yamanaka Ino vs Haruno Sakura _

Naruto stiffened almost immediately, his mind going temporarily blank as the words jumbled up inside his mind. He blinked at the dark monitor, before snapping his head towards the general direction of Team Ten. Ino was also staring at the board, an unreadable expression on her pale face as Asuma said something to her. As if in a painfully slow motion, her head turned towards Naruto and their eyes met. He could see the determination burning in her sapphire irises, and so was a touch of sadness. Naruto opened his mouth to say something but the words were caught in his throat, forming a lump that seemed to lodge itself stubbornly there. He could see Ino lowering her head, slender fingers curled into fists. She nodded at her teammates and sensei, heading for the stairs. The kunoichi had paused before she took the first step and stole a glance at Naruto, who was still staring after her. And then, Ino's pink lips curved into a soft, resolute smile.

It was meant for Naruto.

_You are forgiven._

Ino made her way to the arena with a new fortitude; a different potency that fuelled her ahead, her head held up high and proud. She was no longer the useless genin that she had once been. She had grown, she had changed, she had stared Death in the face and lived. It was the time to show everyone the real Yamanaka Ino, the one that did not fawn over Sasuke or spent hours brushing her hair. She saw Shikamaru and Chouji's faces, lined with anxiety for her, though Shikamaru was not as obvious as the other boy. Asuma-sensei was worried too; the kunoichi could see his teeth grinding the cigarette in his mouth. Her eyes flickered to another figure, the one that had managed to worm his way into her life without her consent. And permanently resided there. She fondly stared at the whiskered face, the hardened blue eyes, the tousled golden hair…

There was no worry or anxiousness on Naruto's face.

There was belief. In her.

Ino smiled and fixed her eyes on her opponent. Sakura had changed too; there was strength where there should be weaknesses. Her face held something akin to arrogance though. Maybe the pink-haired kunoichi had trained with Sasuke and thought that she could beat Ino to bloody pulp by then. Maybe it was just over-confidence. _Early assumptions are always dangerous_, Ino chided herself mentally and stood perfectly still while Hayate coughed and hacked through some small details on the rules. _Am I going to kill Sakura? Can I? Will I?_ Her mind was barraged by questions as she stared at Sakura. The naïve Sakura that was still chasing after Sasuke, the naïve Sakura that still believed that Sasuke would someday like, even love her. Suddenly, Ino felt pity towards Sakura.

Sasuke loved nothing but power.

Hayate had stopped coughing and said, "The third match, begin!"

Her fingers touched the knot that secured the forehead protector around her waist and she tugged at it until the knot gave away. Ino brought the symbol of Konoha shinobi to her forehead, where it should've been placed a long time ago and tied the cloth securely. She wasn't the one to root for orthodoxy but Ino felt that the occasion was worth it. Done with that, the blonde kunoichi said, her voice firm and decisive, "Let's end everything today. Show me what you can do, Sakura-_chan_."

"I couldn't have said it better, Ino-_pig_," the green-eyed kunoichi drew out a kunai, falling into a fighting stance. Ino complied, though her style was more relaxed and allowed a wider arc for movement. Naruto had thought her that. "You're going down."

Ino responded by slipping out two of her own kunai, one in each hand. Both kunoichi charged forward at the same time, the sharp resonance of metal against metal was the only sound that dominated Ino's conscience. They parried evenly for several minutes, sparks flying from clashes between kunai. She jumped when Sakura crouched and tried to trip her, placing one hand on the cold floor to break her fall as she lashed out at the side of Sakura's head. A hand stopped her foot halfway and Ino leapt away, did a few cartwheels and once again resuming her defensive style once she was satisfied with their distance. Sakura was already panting lightly but the weight had helped built Ino's stamina and she was by no way warmed up. The pink-haired kunoichi growled something incoherent; her hand reaching into the pouch strapped to her left leg and fished out more kunai and shuriken. Hurling those towards Ino, she sped to Ino's left.

One kunai narrowly grazed her cheek and was imbedded into the wall behind her but Ino didn't give it a thought until an explosion startled the living daylight out of the blonde. She hastily moved from the wall, frowning when she realized that the kunai had an explosive note attached to it, and so was the other kunai that were aimed for her. Each one that she deflected or evaded exploded within seconds from her contact and soon, a thick curtain of dark smoke cloaked the entire battle area. Those on the balcony could see nothing that was happening inside. So was the two opponents themselves. Ino stayed completely still, perking up her ears for any tap of light footsteps on the floor or rustles of clothes. Her eyes searched wildly for Sakura and she started when she caught a glimpse of pink hair somewhere to her right. In the next second, it was gone.

_She's planning on something,_ Ino thought bitterly, her brows knitted into a frown as she waved a hand to fend off the smoke from asphyxiating her to death. _Somehow, she can see me inside this hell of smoke. I have to get out of here first. Think, Ino! Think!_

The whizzing sound of a _mass_ of something sharp cutting through the air caught her attention. Ino tilted her head up, biting back a curse when she noticed a hail of kunai and shuriken coming her way. The blonde kunoichi immediately formed a series of hand seals and with a 'Hoshi Heki no Jutsu!', slammed her palms flat onto the floor. The shield effectively protected her from being sliced into chunks of genin meat as the weapons clattered down with resounding clangs. Furious, Ino was about to release her jutsu when an idea popped into her head. Channelling extra amount of chakra into the shield, Ino willed it to grow as large as she dared without wasting her chakra supply. Convinced that it was enough, the blonde kunoichi forced the shield to compress itself instead of expanding like it usually did.

When Ino felt the shield began to quiver under the effort to be compressed, she braced herself for a very painful experience. She planted her feet on the floor and crossed her hands before her, grimacing as she heard a faint crack. The crack was followed by a deafening blast, the power of such outburst forcing the smoke to dissipate in an instant. The explosion was a purely chakra-infused one, sending patches of chakra flickering everywhere. Ino wiped a trail of fresh blood from her forehead, numerous cuts marring her skin as she coughed and waved the remaining smoke off her face. The compressed shield could no longer contain the amount of chakra that she had infused inside it, and that resulted in the big bang. The blast, in turn, caused the surrounding air to be forced forward, dispersing the smoke in the process. The drawback was that the air became one hell of sharp invisible blades, thus all the wounds. Ino fingered another cut on her upper arm, before she turned to search for Sakura.

The pink-haired kunoichi was struggling on her feet about a yard from Ino, surprise and anger visibly portrayed on her face. She was clearly not expecting that. Sakura received less cuts than Ino did though, as she was farther away from the centre of the blast than the blonde. Ino brushed her haphazard locks away from her face, trying to regain her usual rhythm of breathing before attacking. She slipped out two kunai, channelled what little chakra she had left to her two trembling feet and sprinted towards Sakura. Her kunai clashed with Sakura's, both kunoichi determined to be the winner. Shifting her weight to one foot, Ino raised another one to deliver a spin kick. It connected with Sakura's right rib, and the pink-haired kunoichi rolled away, gasping for breath. Ino grinned, seeing an opening. She pocketed her kunai and began forming another hand seals that was all too familiar to her and her opponent.

Sakura saw this and laughed. "Shintenshin no Jutsu, Ino? You do know that that jutsu of yours is slow as hell, now, do you? I can just dodge it easily."

To her surprise, Ino's grin broadened. "Thinks yourself a know-it-all, aren't you? I'm going to prove you wrong, Sakura! Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Ino finished the last of the hand seal and Sakura made a gesture to step out of the jutsu way when her eyes widened in a sudden. Ino did not slump forward like she usually did everytime she used Shintenshin, but was still grinning at her like a mischievous Cheshire cat. The pink-haired kunoichi instantly knew that something was wrong. Much to her surprise, Sakura felt the jutsu smacked her right on the face but instead of feeling drowsy and lost control of her limbs like she did in the first test, Sakura mind was assaulted by a horrible wave of _something_! Screams, gales of laughter, cries of pain… all the emotions that ever existed in the world, that human ever went through were ruthlessly drilled into her mind, crashing like tidal waves onto unprotected shores. Everything magnified painfully inside her head, echoing and resounding and overlapping one another until Sakura felt that her brain could burst anytime soon. The Shintenshin that hit her was times faster than the original one, explaining her inability to escape in time. And the pain…

"Make it stop! Please!" begged the pink-haired kunoichi, tears streaming from her eyes as she desperately clawed at her head. Her vision was blurred by tears but she could still see Ino's outline when the blonde calmly walked towards her. She dropped on her knees and rocked her head back and forth. "Please, Ino! Make them stop!"

The blonde's facial expression softened ever so slightly. "Painful, isn't it? Surrender, Sakura and I'll take it all away."

"I… can't! I won't!" Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the terrible screams but got nowhere with her effort. Her resistance finally snapped when a shrill shriek jolted through her mind. She wildly looked for Hayate and when she found him staring at them from a distance, she yelled, "I surrender! I surrender! Make them go, please!"

Hayate nodded once. "Yamanaka Ino, the winner."

"Thank you," dispelling her jutsu, Ino turned on her heels and walked away, leaving a crying Sakura behind. No one but the Jounins and the Hokage noticed Ino's trembles as she was surrounded by Medic nins to inspect her wounds, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Another group of Medic nins mobbed Sakura, who was still sobbing and hugging herself, mumbling and muttering under her breath.

Shintenshin no Jutsu was a dangerous mind jutsu of the Yamanaka. The first version is Control while the other was Torment. Ino usually used the Control that was taught to her by her father, as the other version was unknown to her until she read the Yamanaka Scroll. Torment had the bloodcurdling ability to shred her enemies' minds into pieces, driving them to the verge of insanity. Waves upon waves of memories, emotions, killing intents, everything that the Shintenshin user wished to inflict upon the minds. The user could also increase the tune of his/her attack, intensifying it thousandfold until the opponent could not take it anymore and either brought a kunai to their own throats or too pained that they were rendered immobile and thus, an easy kill. The only disadvantage was that the user would also suffer a fragment of the waves, being that he/she would be projecting those waves to others through his/her own senses. With a weak mind, the Shintenshin Torment could never be executed properly and could even prove to be fatal to the user.

Naruto's fingers curled around the metal railing, his eyes on the battered form of Ino. Sakura was altogether forgotten. He had tensed when he realized that Ino had used the dangerous version of Shintenshin to defeat the pink-haired kunoichi but sighed in relief when she was declared the winner without any apparent signs of the side effect. He knew, for one, that she had only practiced the jutsu once. On him. He couldn't even stand ten seconds under that Shintenshin when Kyuubi's chakra started spiking out from him under the mental stress, freaking Ino out and made her cancel the jutsu. She refused to try it another time and when Naruto asked, she told him that she wouldn't use that Shintenshin unless she really needs to. The tears held back in Ino's eyes caught his attention. _Maybe she's still feeling that wave thing…_He jerked out of his reverie when he felt someone's eyes on him.

Naruto scowled at a smiling Shakaku. "What?"

"If you're so worried about her, get your ass down there," the redhead retorted, playing with the end of her braid. "At least she'll know that you care."

"And it won't kill you to care," Raiu picked up where Shakaku had left it and all of a sudden, Naruto felt that he was being overpowered by the two bossy older girls.

That thought made his scowl turned into a frown. "You two just can't shut up, can you? You're beginning to grate my nerves."

To prove his point, Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Sun genins (excluding Ryuujin who wouldn't say anything to him even under kunai point) and stalked downstairs. Against his own will, his feet brought him to Ino; the kunoichi leaning alone against the wall. He was beginning to think that either his body had malfunctioned or his brain had automatically shut off and failed to give his legs appropriate orders, because Naruto certainly wasn't thinking about going anywhere near the blonde kunoichi. She turned her head wearily towards him as he came nearer, a smile forming on her lips when she recognized him. Her purple clothes were torn in numerous places, some with dark stains that indicated bleeding. While the Medic nins had patched up and covered almost all cuts, there were still some shallow ones on her cheek and forehead, blood oozing from them faintly.

They ended up staring at each other.

"So… hey?" Naruto began awkwardly, hands behind his head.

Ino chuckled. "Hey."

He sat down besides her, poking at one of the cuts. Ino winced and slapped his hand away, pouting at the genin. Naruto grinned and said, "You were great. And that Shintenshin kick serious ass. Sakura didn't even stand a chance."

"Yeah…" she trailed on heavily, her eyes slowly fluttering shut. "Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"I'm so tired," with that last remark, her head dropped onto Naruto's shoulder and her breathing evened out to show that she had fallen prey under the spell of slumber.

Naruto had flinched at first, unaccustomed to the close contact but after a couple of minutes, his rigid muscles relaxed and he allowed himself to lean into the touch. Ino was not heavy at all and her head fitted perfectly into the crook of his neck that Naruto found it hard to put her elsewhere, not that he wanted to. Her long hair was released from the confinement of her trademark ponytail and pooled around her face, tickling Naruto at the same time. He growled and swept the disturbing hair away, causing Ino to stir in her sleep and snuggled closer to Naruto. Like he was one giant version of a bloody teddy bear (Mr. Snuffles) she once told him about. It was a good thing that they were partially hidden from most of the participants; no one would see them if they were not searching for anything in particular.

Because Naruto would personally murder himself if anyone ever saw them like that.

TBC 

A/N:

A little fluff… (cringes) What was I thinking! (kicks fic) Stupid fic!

An ultra fast update. I wrote this chapter the whole night, deleting and rewriting some scenes like some kind of a rabid keyboard abuser. So, do you like the fighting scenes? I hope it's better than the last ones. I tried to make them better, you know, just for you guys. I'm too tired to run over them again so yeah…

Reviews! (faints)

**Keltosh:** Keltosh-san! (tackles and glomps again) I miss you! And yeah, thanks for your review and overview on both chapters. I don't understand how you've missed the update but I'll wait for you, ne? (glomps again and again)

**WhiteKnight:** (evil cackles) Hehehehe… that's my secret. If you want to know, you have to read on and keep reviewing.

**Manatheron:** The seal that Kakashi put over Sasuke's curse seal is there. Only that I don't think it was necessary to do that scene in last chapter. Maybe I'll squeeze it inside the next chapter. What do you think?

**deathtraps:** (runs away from deathtraps) Uh oh, don't kill me! I wanna finish this fic!

**Carrot-Six:** The Sun genins intention to get closer to Naruto will remain hidden until I see it fit to reveal it! Muahahaha! (is being evil) And the pairing… if you squint really, really hard, you'll see. If you still haven't, I ain't telling. (runs off cackling)

**Chedving:** I'm blaming the fluff on you! Your review about the absence of happiness inside the chapters before made my Fluff Leprechaun went berserk! (chase around for leprechaun) See what you've done!

**benighted fool:** (crickets chirping) Anou… are you an English teacher or something? Because I totally lost it when I read your review. I have to admit that I'm not that great of a writer and there are things that I have to improve but I'm trying my best. Maybe I don't have a large field of vocabulary or maybe I'm just plain stupid, so really, forgive me if you find this fic to be dull. My main objective in writing is to send the message across to the readers, in hope that they understand what I'm trying to write and hopefully, enjoy it. Your insight of my weakness is like an eye-opener to me.

**blazer-6: **You know what, out of all my reviewers, you amuse me the best. 'Magic hickey', OH MY GOD, you don't know how hard I was laughing when I read that. I love you! (glomps)

**nonengel:** Another update in just two days! How do you feel about it? And yeah, I'm beginning to get attached to those Sun nins too. Naruto is fun to mess around, anyway.

To my other beloved reviewers,

**Cobra-100, Peter Kim, Night-Owl123, mrasdfghj, HikaruOfArrow, BigAznDaddy99, jpthug12, Gopu, sephynarutocloud, Shadow-Sensei,**

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This chapter is for all of you!

Until later; Read, Enjoy and Review, minna!

**Kaara **


	18. Flight of Doubts

**Title:** Fighting All Odds

**By:** Kaara

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

**Summary so far:** Sun defeated the Sound, while Ino had used the Shintenshin to put an end to Sakura's challenge.

**Notes:**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

**(-) **: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

xxx

**Chapter Seventeen: Flight of Doubts.**

xxx

Ino winced in her sleep; stirring slightly as loud cheers and snippets of conversations reached her ears. Her dream had been a nice one; something about a spike-headed blond, a green goat and a field of multi-coloured poppies. Waking up was the last thing she wanted to do at that time. Besides, her muscles were practically killing her and using some kind of a sleepy logic, that revelation only served as one of the many reasons of why she _should not_ wake up just yet. Wrapping an arm possessively around her 'pillow', Ino's fatigue-misted mind fleetingly wondered where the heck did all those sound came from as she tried to fall back into deep slumber.

And then, her 'pillow' suddenly _squirmed_.

It took the kunoichi seconds for that act to register itself in her brain. _Pillows_ weren't supposed to be able to move, let alone _squirm_. It was against the Rule of Conventional Pillows. Startled, Ino snapped her eyes open, only to stare into a pair of sky-blue orbs that were glaring down at her. She squinted under the sudden glare of bright light, blinking away the drowsiness that was stubbornly clinging onto her mind while she shielded her eyes with a hand. Approximately two nanoseconds later, comprehension dawned onto the pit of kunoichi's stomach. A fierce shade of scarlet flamed Ino's cheeks as she hastily unwrapped her arms from around an amused Naruto and scooted to a safe distance from the smirking blond, muttering and cursing under her breath. Naruto stood up from his previous sitting position, prompting Ino to do the same. She winced again when the sudden movement caused a sharp jolt of pain coursing through her body, courtesy of the many lacerations and cuts from her fight.

In an attempt to piece back her dignity, Ino asked, "How long have I been out cold?"

"Seven fights and it's the middle of the eighth," Naruto informed her, flexing his numb hand that Ino had effectively mistaken for a bolster. In the arena, the black-clothed Sand teen from Sand had just blocked a kunai from a Mist genin and they were engaged into another bout of kunai-hurtling-and-dodging. The fight held nothing special and almost arrived at the point of it being mundane. Naruto clenched and unclenched his fingers to make sure that his blood circulation had returned to normal, before grinning at the scowling kunoichi. "You should feel lucky to have the privilege of napping on my shoulder. It's a rare honour, you know."

It was as if the argument between them had never happened and that they were back at square one. Business as usual. It was Naruto's way of showing that he was sorry.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, urchin-head," huffed Ino, though she was no longer scowling. It actually felt good to be in talking term with Naruto again. Ino wouldn't admit it even if her life depends on it but she did miss the blond. Just a little. And she still hadn't **completely** forgiven Naruto for being an ass earlier. Nope, not a chance. But for now, she decided to act all civil and stuff. Payback could wait for later. "Damn, I can't believe I slept that long. What've I missed?"

Naruto ticked off a finger for each name. "Lemme see… Bug Guy passed, Shikamaru kicked Sound girl's ass, Double Bun Girl lost to Sand girl, Gaara flattened one Mist guy, Kabuto's teammate tied with another Mist guy and Chouji tied with Kiba. That's a really funny match, you know, it's a shame you missed it. Chouji knocked Kiba _and_ himself unconscious at the end. We thought he would've had it by then, what with the pill and that dog morphing into stinky Dog Boy. Even your sensei was laughing."

"… Your explanation doesn't make sense at all," Ino noted dryly. She stretched her sore muscles lazily but paused in mid-stretch, realizing something amiss. She cocked her head to a side as she stared at a sniggering Naruto. "Wait, you said I missed _seven_ matches. You just told me six. What's the last one?"

A thick curtain of mist suddenly enveloped the arena and they could hear some not-very-unintentional cursing coming from Kankuro.

Ino was taken aback when he saw Naruto's feature hardened, blue eyes that seconds ago twinkling with mirth were by then flashing with suppressed contempt. The kunoichi frowned, unable to understand the reason behind such change. The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched into a barely-concealed snarl, his fingers balled into fist when he finally spat out, "Hinata lost to **Neji**." The last name was emphasized with scorn.

"Um… they're both Hyuugas, aren't they?" Ino ventured to ask, puzzling on why Naruto had taken offence on the result of that particular match. She drew closer and placed a hand on Naruto's rigid shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." His voice suggested otherwise. He glanced back, only to realize that he had just made a huge mistake. Ino was looking at him with a hurt expression pasted on her face. That was something that only the kunoichi could do to him; making him feel as though he had just committed an unforgivable sin. Damn. "Fine, that Neji guy is a total asshole. I hate him. No, I take that back. I don't hate him; I **loath** him."

Raising an eyebrow, Ino asked, "Does it have anything to do with the fact that Neji beat Hinata? That's why you're pissed?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Naruto scratched his spiky head and laughed ruefully. "You know what, forget it. I don't care anymore. Let's just watch the fight and then get some food when all this end, okay?"

Ino shifted her position slightly and grinned at Naruto. "As long as you're paying, I'll go along with anything."

Kankuro choose that moment to finally save them from dying out of boredom and put his opponent out of misery. His puppet, an ugly machine with an apocalyptically unfashionable name (what kind of name 'Karasu is anyway? Can't her use 'Spotty' or something like that?) decimated the Mist nin, splattering blood all over the stone floor. Ino grimaced in distaste, the corner of her lips curling down with her disapproval as internal organs were sailing through the air and landed on several very unfortunate people. Much shrieking, yelling and shouting followed the crass display of violence from the Sand genin, who had nonchalantly walked back to his teammates despite the chaos he had caused. They took a short break to clean all the blood, intestines and fainted genins from the arena and after thirty minutes, the electronic board was ready to roll again. The two names that appeared shortly afterwards made Ino blanch.

_Uzumaki Naruto versus Kuroyume Ryuujin _

The silver-haired Sun freak was glaring at him. Again. Like for the past hours as he watched the other matches; every time he tilted his head up towards the Sun genins, Ryuujin could be found narrowing his eyes at Naruto in obvious contempt. Venomous, even. His two teammates were apparently aware of this, if their similar sardonic smirks held any proof to that. Those Sun girls were definitely messed up. It's not like he was actually disturbed by the glares, he was just, well… disturbed. Annoyed. Peeved. Sure, it might've originated because of something Naruto had said earlier but he crossed out that possibility as soon as it suggested itself; the words he had exchanged with Ryuujin could be counted with one hand.

And now, that Sun genin was looking **satisfied **that they were going to fight each other.

Heh.

Naruto couldn't wait to wipe that infuriating smirk off the bitch's face.

"Oi, urchin-head." The blond genin turned to face the kunoichi, who was grinning widely. She held up a fist and said, "Don't die."

"You should tell yourself **that,**" he retorted. Cracking his knuckles, Naruto returned the grin (his more feral and dangerous) and started walking towards Hayate, who was hacking and wheezing unceremoniously. "Twenty bowls of ramen says that I can beat his ass in ten minutes."

Ino snorted, shifting around for a more comfortable position. "Hah, you **wish**. I'm on."

"Prepare to sacrifice your piggy bank, Ino-chan, 'cause this match's mine."

"I'd keep that big mouth of yours shut if I were you," the girl snickered wickedly, before cupping her palms around her mouth and yelled, "GO, RYUUJIN!"

The silver-haired genin blinked from his place in the middle of the arena and actually **smiled** at Ino.

Both Naruto and Ino shivered in unison at the unexpected reaction.

Shaking his head, the blond genin glared at the Sun nin and mouthed foul words mentally. Naruto scowled as he paused and glared back at Ino. "That's not fair. You're supposed to be cheering for **me**, not androgynous weirdo there."

"Hey, life is not fair. Live with it."

"… Traitor."

"Fine, fine," Ino yawned, winced as her weary muscles screamed in protest and gratefully settled back against the wall. "Lose to that guy and I'll personally kick your ass once we're outta here, got it?"

"Don't count on that," Naruto flashed him one last foxy grin and skipped (not literally, of course) towards the referee and his opponent. He kept his eyes trained on the other boy, unwilling to back down from their glaring match. Hey, if Ryuujin wanted to make this personal, Naruto was too willing to oblige. He wanted to win, no shit, he **had** to win. Ino would never let him hear the end of this if he loses. Besides, there's ramen on stake here!

Eyeing the feminine built of the silver-haired Sun, he smirked.

Not that he will lose, of course.

"Match… begin!"

The two genins remained unmoving, eyes still locked stubbornly together. Ryuujin was the first one to spoke out, his silver eyes blazing with an unidentified flicker as he reached back and gathered his long hair into a tight ponytail. "Forgive me, but I must win this fight."

"Forgive **me,** but I must kick your ass," Naruto mocked, calmly taking several steps back to create some distance between them. His fingers immediately weaved into his favourite set of handseals and he shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto multiplied generously in number, about twenty to thirty clones of himself standing clustered together after the smoke subsided. One of them took command; raising one hand and pointed at the stoic Ryuujin. "Pummel him!"

Ryuujin leapt backwards when the battalion of grinning 'Naruto's charged towards him, his hands reaching into the pouches strapped to his thighs. Instead of drawing standard kunai or shuriken, he surprised Naruto by slipping out small metal needles that were clasped skilfully between his fingers. The silver-haired boy dodged a punch that was thrown his way by a clone, flipping on one hand to avoid a spin kick from another and threw the needles at the two clones. The real Naruto stayed back and allowed his clones to do the 'pummelling' job, examining his opponent (that was by then had decimated almost three quarter of his original clones) for any weak spot. He frowned at the Sun genin's proficiency in weaponry, as it seemed that he had underestimated the girly-looking boy.

Kyuubi would be royally pissed off if he found out about **that.**

Underestimating an opponent was a sure way to get killed in a battlefield. He had taught Ino that.

Naruto groaned internally at the thought.

With a burst of chakra, Naruto propelled himself forward as the last of his clones fell prey to Ryuujin's needles, smirking when he noticed that the silver-haired genin was panting softly in exertion from the assault. He had deduced through his brief observation that Ryuujin was no fan of close combat, as the genin used those needles that indicated that he was trained to fighting long distance; something that demanded precise control and accuracy instead of physical endurance. He had also avoided Naruto's clones instead of facing them off, before finishing the clones from afar. The sheen of sweat on the other boy's skin was also a dead giveaway; Ryuujin didn't have much stamina when it comes to fighting. Genins like these usually specializes in chakra control and when working in teams, would always stay behind as medical support or a genjutsu specialist.

The blond genin hoped that it was the former.

Genjutsu could be such a bitch to deal with in a match.

"Tired already, Ryuu-_chan_?" Naruto teased, though his expression was dead serious as he jumped and aimed a flying kick at the other genin's face. Ryuujin ducked low to dodge that, but was caught by surprise when Naruto simply swung his foot into a dropkick. Ryuujin instinctively crossed both hands above his head to receive the impact and collapsed on his knees as Naruto increased the pressure of his kick. Naruto was about to lash out his other foot when the Sun genin twisted his hand and shot out a small needle that whizzed straight towards his right eye. The blond cursed when he was forced to retreat, involuntarily wincing when the needle barely missed his head. Ryuujin had straightened up, albeit a bit shakily as he inspected his hands, apparently checking if Naruto's kick had done any serious damage. Naruto grinned. _Yep, definitely a medic nin._ "Oi, you can still fight?"

The silver-haired genin glared coldly at him, dropping the hand he was cradling and fell into a loose fighting stance. Naruto shrugged, his eyes on the glinting surface of the needles in his opponent's hands. They remained immobile, glaring at each other for several seconds, until an imaginary bell rung inside their heads and both charged at each other. Naruto slipped out several kunai with one hand, while he held one kunai with the other hand. Hurtling the bunch of kunai at Ryuujin to stall some time and force the Sun genin to be on the defensive again, Naruto circulated a precise amount of chakra to the soles of his ninja sandals, increasing his speed until he was almost invisible to naked eyes. He had concentrated a small quantity of chakra to his eyes to enhance his sight and that allowed him to see his opponent's movements clearly, even faint ripples of chakra that was radiating from Ryuujin. And while this method was not as good as using the Kyuubi's Eyes, it was less obvious and chakra consuming.

He was in front of the surprised genin in a matter of seconds, as if he had appeared out of thin air. The shocked, wide-eyed look on his opponent's face was enough to make him grin insanely, as he swung his fist toward the side if Ryuujin's head. His knuckles connected with flesh, crashing undoubtedly into cheekbone. The silver-haired genin's head jerked backwards from the impact, but even as his opponent was falling, Naruto moved forward, planting a kick onto the exposed stomach. The Sun genin literally flew back, before he was stopped by the wall, creating a crater around his limp body. Much to Naruto's chagrin, Ryuujin was still very much alive and awake, though he was coughing out blood and curses. Naruto stood in the middle of the arena, eyes blazing with annoyance and chakra as he glared at his struggling opponent. There was a subtle change in the flow of chakra from the other genin, like he was willing them to circle around him like a tornado. Ryuujin staggered away from the wall and both of his hands were reaching deep into his weapon pouches. Watching with concealed amusement from the distance, Naruto frowned when he noticed that Ryuujin had drawn an impressive amount of needles, holding it out as if the genin was offering them to something.

And then, faster than what naked eyes could see, those needles were snatched away from his hands by an invisible force. But as Naruto had channelled his chakra to his eyes in order to keep up with whatever tricks that the Sun genin had up in his sleeve (or lack of sleeves, rather), he had a clear view of what had happened. And he didn't like it at all. The metal needles were caught up in the spiral of chakra that surrounded Ryuujin, the same one that Naruto had sensed before. Given the nature of the chakra to strengthen whatever inanimate object it contacted, the needles were of a more dangerous threat than before. They had formed some kind of a moving shield in front, around the silver-haired genin, a shield that would've required a hell lot of effort to deal with. Naruto frowned, his eyes following the rapid succession of needles. Ryuujin had regained some of his cool composure from the earlier attack, wiping a trail of blood from one corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyebrows were knitted in fury, silver eyes raging up like twin grey storms. He moved forward, confidence flowing back into him from the protection of his needles.

"I've never thought that I would've to use this technique," muttered Ryuujin, loud enough to be heard only by his blonde challenger.

Naruto snorted. "Every one of those who had underestimated me had to eat their words after I'm finished with them." He flexed his hands and grinned at Ryuujin. "You'll soon in my Hall of Shame."

"I'd like to see you try," the other genin snapped. He spread out his hands and shouted, "Ginsenka!" (Silver Whirlwind)

The needles instantly shot towards Naruto in an astonishing speed that the blonde was barely able to cross his arms and crouched to evade the sudden attack. It reminded him to the time when he had fought Haku in Wave Country; the needles and the feeling of being impaled roused his anger. Naruto growled deep in his throat; Kyuubi wasn't there to save him anymore. He would have to defend himself this time. He managed to deflect almost all of the needles that came zooming his way, though more than a few had found their way through his chakra-enhanced skin. This particular jutsu created some kind of a hide, easy enough to create in seconds and thick enough to withstand a medium level of impact. When the first wave had ended, Naruto stood up in a flash and jumped a few feet back, cursing loudly as he pulled out the needles that were sticking out of his person. Ryuujin had a smug smile decorating his pale face, a smile that Naruto was itching to wipe with a punch or two.

The fight was beginning to get to his nerves. Ryuujin had been a better opponent than he had first predicted. His chakra control on the needles was impressive, though the blonde noted with malice that the silver-haired Sun couldn't keep it up for less than fifteen minutes more. Ryuujin was already swaying dangerously on his feet, his needles circling the genin in a much slower motion than before. He would eventually exhaust his chakra if they continued to glare at each other. But Naruto didn't want to drag the fight that long. It was rather annoying, so to say. Naruto clenched his hands, summoning more chakra to envelope him, like a thin, second skin. It was a simple healing jutsu that Kyuubi had taught him; his chakra would automatically quicken the process of closing the cuts and laceration from Ryuujin's attacks. He eyed the other genin with barely-hidden contempt, mind buzzing with plans to maim or at least, damage the Sun as badly as he could, without the sickly referee or Kakashi interfering.

His lips curled into a lop-sided grin.

But of course, they couldn't stop what they can't see.

Perfect.

Naruto's fingers weaved into a set of handseals, brows knitted in concentration. He held out a hand in front of him, whispering, "Kage Fuuin." (Shadow Seal)

And watched the magic unfold.

A sphere of compressed jet black liquid-like substance materialised above his outstretched palm, and slowly levitated higher. And higher, like a rising sun. The sphere only stopped when it nearly reached the stone ceiling of the arena, hovering in mid air like a suspended disco ball. All the spectators and even Ryuujin had their eyes locked on the black sphere, curiosity and anticipation reflected clearly on their faces. Naruto's grin widened; they had unknowingly played along to his little scheme. He closed his own eyes and made another handseal.

"Release."

Black tentacles suddenly shot outwards from the sphere at his command, imbedding themselves into the four corners of the arena and hardened to form the frame of a four-sided pyramid. Astonished gasps could be heard resounding from the audience, accompanied by several impressed shouts. In another second, the dark pyramid was completed, shielding the arena completely from others' view. Trapped inside the pyramid was none other than Naruto, Ryuujin and Hayate. The crowd roared their dissatisfaction, angry that they were denied of the right to watch the match.

Ryuujin, meanwhile, was experiencing utter and ultimate helplessness, finding himself half-floating inside an endless void that stretched into infinity. Panic started blooming inside the usually-placid genin, his needles vibrating and resonating his insecurity. He was never fond of darkness since childhood, the memory of the past came trickling back through the dam of his conscience. He inhaled deeply, trying to piece back his confidence, fingers tightly clutching the cold surface of his metal needles. They would protect him, they always do but Ryuujin wasn't sure if he had enough chakra to last another ten minutes. He had wasted almost all of his chakra reserve just to evade and destroy those kage bunshin. His opponent, that insufferable Naruto-sama, had disappeared before his very eyes, no doubt after he had cast this weird jutsu. Ryuujin bit his lower lip, moving his head to right and left in search of his opponent. He couldn't help but to imagine with dread how Shakaku must've been laughing at his misery right now. Damn that Fire Mistress to the deepest bowl of Hell.

It was disconcerting for Hayate to find that he was unwillingly imprisoned inside this... strange contraption. There should be a law about referees' involvement in matches; his pay definitely didn't cover getting shrouded by chakra-fused confines. Disgruntled as he was, Hayate tentatively took a step forward, his senses wary of any danger that the move might bring. He was not a jounin because of his looks, though he doubted that even that would bring him anywhere. The pale shinobi waved a hand in front of his face, then around him in a graceful arc before withdrawing the hand. His forehead wrinkled into a frown as he examined his surrounding, bagged eyes scanning the width and length of his prison. His first assumption that it was chakra-fused appeared to be wrong, as he couldn't sense any huge amount of chakra that was usually needed to perform such complicated jutsu and the only chakra trail that he did notice was one very thin line moving consistently upwards. Now, the question is what the hell did that brat just do?

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. And grinned.

He could almost taste their bewilderment.

xxx

"Shit, what did Naruto do?" Ino cursed and gritted her teeth, fatigue forgotten. She squinted her eyes, trying to see past the barrier of the pyramid. Needless to say, the effort was a futile attempt. Incensed, she turned to glare at Shakaku. The older girl seemed to have the answer to everything. "What's happening?"

Shakaku tilted her head towards Ino and smiled. She pointed a finger at the dark pyramid and said, "What did you see, Yamanaka-san?"

"A big ass pyramid that came out of nowhere," snapped the platinum blond in response. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"It's the most important element to explain what Naruto had just done," the redhead sat down cross-legged besides Ino. Her crimson eyes strayed back to the arena and she muttered softly, "Because what I see is Naruto beating the crap out of my teammate."

Ino gaped, stared at the pyramid that was obscuring her view and back at Shakaku. "But that doesn't make any sense. I don't see anything than--"

"The pyramid?"

The blonde's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Yeah, so?"

"It's a genjutsu," Shakaku stated simply. She ventured on to explain further when Ino raised one eyebrow in question. "A cleverly-planned one, I should say. There are several types of genjutsu as I'm sure you would've known by now. This one that Naruto had just performed can only work if all the requirement is fulfilled. It's a rule-based genjutsu that can affect a mass of people at the same time. Now you understand?"

Comprehension began to tug at the back of Ino's brain, and she stared up at the top of the pyramid, where the black sphere was located. "And one of the rules... is that we focus on that ball thing over there, isn't it? The genjutsu didn't work on you because you were concentrating on Naruto, instead of the sphere."

Shakaku's smile could only be described as pure satisfaction. "Correct. You really are a smart kunoichi; no wonder Naruto chose you as his companion."

"Com... companion?" Ino all but spluttered, her cheeks burning at the implication.

"Why, yes, of course," replied the redhead, eyes a-twinkling. She folded her arms against her chest and regarded the blushing blond mischievously. "Didn't you realize the way he stared at you sometimes?"

Ino shook her head and laughed, although the mirth didn't quite reach her eyes. "Whoa, now you're jumping into conclusions. Naruto and I are no more than sparring partners, not companions. And no, I didn't notice the way he stared at me, because we were too busy trying not to kill each other most of the times."

"Whatever you say, Yamanaka-san," Shakaku coolly shrugged and leaned back towards the wall. "But while it is indeed easy to lie to others, I'd like to recommend you not lie to yourself. It's not healthy, I assure you."

The Leaf kunoichi stiffly ignored the advice and brought her hands together to form the handseal for genjutsu-cancelling technique. Despite the throbbing pain that was still coursing leisurely inside her veins (there were disadvantages in being stupidly prideful and not allowing the Medic nins to treat her wounds), she managed to complete the handseal and sourly spat out, "Release."

The pyramid wavered before her very eyes and disappeared in a split second, allowing her the privilege of witnessing the fight within the confine of the none-existent barrier. Just as Shakaku had said earlier, Naruto was indeed enjoying the upper hand he had over the silver-haired genin. Ryuujin was apparently still trapped inside the genjutsu, as he was blindly ordering his needles to attack empty space instead of Naruto. The blonde genin had taken his time, almost gleefully setting off hails of kunai, shuriken and kage bunshin from random places at the same time to watch his opponent suffer a slow, painful defeat. Hayate, that sick-looking referee guy was facing the wrong direction, rubbing the tip of his nose, coughed and rubbed his nose again, as if he was contemplating something. Apart from that, it also seemed that the genjutsu deprived its victim of all five senses that human possessed, therefore rendering them to be completely at the mercy of the user. Ryuujin had definitely reached the end of his road.

xxx

Sakura was completely stunned.

She had wanted to follow Kakashi and Sasuke at first, to know what had happened to her beloved Uchiha. The seal had acted up again during Sasuke's match against that chakra-sucking guy, that much she knew, but it vexed Sakura that she had no knowledge of how bad the situation was. Their jounin sensei was most probably trying to fix the situation using some complicated counter-jutsu or something, and that brought a wave of relief to ease her worried mind. Kakashi could be counted on in times of peril, though she wished that he would ditch that goddamn porn book of his. Finding nothing better to do after that humiliating defeat to Ino-pig, Sakura decided to stay and watch the other matches. Maybe she could analyze other genins' fighting styles and help Sasuke in the incoming Third Round. Maybe then, he would come to see her as someone useful to have around. With that thought firmly planted in her mind (along other quite disturbing worshipping acts of Sasuke Land), Sakura determinedly assessed and took down mental notes on each genin, noting with vigour each strength and weaknesses she could find.

She was doing fine until Naruto's turn.

Vengeful was not really something that people often used to describe Sakura, but at that time, she was more than happy to see Naruto getting his ass kicked by that emotionless Sun bloke. Their argument after Team Seven had managed to get past the Forest of Death still angered the pink-haired kunoichi. Naruto not only had insulted her; the stupid blonde even had the gall to imply that he was better than Sasuke! And then, running off with Ino like that! What was he thinking? Sakura had to bite her tongue to stop herself from spitting out colourful obscenities at the memory (that would be terribly out of character for her), looking straight ahead at the electronic board. When the board flashed Naruto's name, along with that of the silver-haired girl from the Sun, she almost smirked in glee. From what she had heard about those Sun genins, they were nothing short of impressive. One girl from Hidden Mist even revealed the fact that the Sun sailed past the second test unscathed.

Though it also meant that Sasuke was going to face some serious challenge later from the Sun genins.

But at least Naruto would be eliminated.

That opinion was instantly killed on the spot when Naruto actually fought back with a significant level of improvement since the last time Sakura saw him fight. And as her blonde teammate had exterminated a giant snake with one single jutsu when they; no, **he** fought against Orochimaru, that was indeed saying something about his strength. Sakura watched, jaw hanging loose, as Naruto landed blow after blow on the other genin. His kage bunshin kept on coming, as if he had an unlimited access to chakra. Even when the silver-haired boy used a flashy jutsu to manipulate those metal needles, Naruto didn't seem even flinch. It was, as Sakura concluded, quite disturbing to see Naruto being this formidable. She bitterly admitted that the blonde had grown far above Sasuke and her, though she wouldn't say it out aloud. What puzzled her was, 'How?'. How did he manage to learn all those jutsu? How did he made friends with her loud-mouthed rival? Had he always been this strong? But, how?

And when Naruto and his opponent (along with that pale referee, but he's not that important) disappeared inside the black pyramid, Sakura couldn't help but to be amazed. And envious. How come Naruto was the one who had surpassed them all? Wasn't he the infamous 'Dead Last'? The pink-haired girl leaned forward, eyes squinted in her attempt to see what had happened inside the pyramid. It was useless. With a frustrated sigh, Sakura allowed her hands to hang limply by her sides, her mind racing for an explanation concerning Naruto's drastic change of attitude. Maybe it had something to do with Ino... or maybe Naruto just wanted to prove something. Maybe Naruto wanted to show that he was much more superior than them. Maybe Naruto had gotten tired of being cast aside for the likes of Sasuke. Somehow, all those 'maybe's made her dizzy, and a little bit guilty for all the unkind words he had directed towards Naruto.

Maybe Naruto just craved for some recognition.

Call her paranoid, but there was something oddly similar about those Sun genins. Not counting the weird accessories that they wore. No, it was something more profound. And it had something to do with Naruto. Sakura shook her head, her green eyes locked at Shakaku and Ino, who was sitting besides each other, talking. That was another thing that rubbed her the wrong way; Ino defeating her. And using Shintenshin, nonetheless. Though she could blame it on the lack of knowledge about the Yamanaka family jutsu; knowing that Shintenshin had two versions was a total shock on her part. All her practice with Sasuke was evidently not enough. Sakura thought that she had known the other kunoichi well enough that she could predict the outcome of their fight. Apparently, she was wrong. Sakura had been in the wrong for too much of a time nowadays that she began to start doubting her ability. Wasn't she the smartest kunoichi of their year? Sure, Ino might've come out top-ranked, but Iruka-sensei often praised her for her brain and quick thinking. Was that not enough?

Sakura bit her lower lip, staring down blankly at Ino.

Well... shit.

xxx

"I forfeit," came the curt voice of the Sun genin not a minute after Ino had made her observation. His silver eyes were burning with hatred and resignation, glaring at no one in particular. He had withdrawn his needles, standing stiffly in the middle of the arena like a defeated man.

The funny thing was that Hayate didn't hear what Ryuujin had just said, seeing that the referee was also still affected by the genjutsu. Shakaku sniggered at the frustration etched onto her teammate's face, and at Hayate, who was by then waving both hands before him, three feet in front of the Hokage. Naruto had already burst laughing, clutching at his stomach as his opponent yelled for the referee. He stopped marginally, enough to form a set of handseals and dispel the jutsu before continued on laughing like a doped hyena. Ryuujin stopped yelling once he saw that the veil of darkness had lifted; his eyes cold and hard. Hayate blinked, hands stopped in mid-wave and he stared dumbly at Sandaime, who was looking at his jounin questioningly. He turned and narrowed his eyes accusingly at Naruto, though his glare was cut short when he coughed yet again. Ino couldn't help but to giggle at the hilarious situation, something that she had not done since they arrived from the Forest.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Naruto impatiently addressed Hayate. "He'd already forfeited."

The jounin in question merely shrugged and retorted, "I didn't hear him say the words."

**That **made the blonde bristle. "What the hell are you talking about!"

"Referee-sir," came a voice from somewhere behind Naruto, forcing the genin to glance back. It was Ryuujin's. "I forfeit. He wins."

Hayate heaved a deep sigh and raised his hand. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

"NOOOO!" A shout of anguish tore through the stadium; the source was one Yamanaka Ino. She was currently shaking her head, eyes wide in horror and mouth gaping open. "My piggy bank!"

**TBC**

Sorry for the extreme lateness. How long has it been, five or six months? Like I said, there's no one else to blame but myself. I'm getting more and more pathetic nowadays anyway. It's unavoidable.

I won't be answering reviews anymore, except maybe those really important questions. The keyword is 'maybe'.

Later, I guess.

**Kaara**


	19. Confrontation and The Last Fights

**Title:** Fighting All Odds

**By:** Kaara

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them, the original Naruto characters, of course. But other than that, the new jutsus and my OCs, they _do_ belong to me, _kapish_?

**Summary so far:** Sun defeated the Sound, while Ino had used the Shintenshin to put an end to Sakura's challenge.

**Notes:**

"speech"

_thoughts_

_(Kyuubi's speech)_

**(-) **: change of scene, time, POV, etc

On with the fic!

xxx

**Chapter Eighteen: Confrontation and the Last Fights.**

xxx

Kakashi was not having a jolly good time.

He had escorted Sasuke out of the arena earlier, after seeing that his student had struggled with the cursed seal in the middle of the match. He had been worried. It was enough to make the silver-haired jounin grimace when he surveyed how bad the situation was. Sasuke had done a good job in suppressing the seal for the time being, but there was no saying that Orochimaru's little 'gift' won't be acting up again. And Sasuke couldn't possibly continue on using plagiarised techniques in the Third Round. He might be fighting those who are well above his level and the Uchiha would need all the chakra that he had. Besides, it injured his pride when other jounins had looked at him with a flicker of distaste in their eyes because his student had copied other's technique in order to scrape through. It was humiliating enough for Kakashi to confront an unusually pissed off Gai when Sasuke had defeated Yoroi using the move that he had blatantly stole from Rock Lee; he didn't want to know what Asuma or Kurenai might be thinking about him. That Lee boy's past and reason for his hardworking nature was as infamous amongst the instructor as his thick eyebrows.

"_That was an… interesting match."_

_The one-eyed jounin mentally froze at the tone of his long-time comrade's voice. He had only heard Gai used that sort of voice once, and the result was not pretty. The missing nin that had insulted the spandex-wearing jounin had ended up in a pile of oozing red meat. Kakashi wanted to hasten to aid his student, but he knew that Gai was demanding some explanation. The Green Beast could be unbelievably protective over his prize student sometimes. Why does Sasuke have to copy Lee's move of all people? That kid really is trouble. "Listen, I need to go to him, Gai. We'll talk later."_

_Gai's eyes were cold and hard under that ridiculous bowl haircut of his. "I won't allow Lee's effort to be wasted in vain. It's unfair to the boy, and you know that."_

_Kakashi was not very proud of having the Sharingan at that time. He knew how copycats and plagiariser are treated. Even though he had built his reputation as a powerful and loyal shinobi of Konoha throughout all those years that he had served, there was still a lingering effect of scorn concerning how he acquired all the jutsus that he had. Kakashi sighed and tilted his head so that he was facing his eternal rival. "I'm in no position to justify, or apologize for Sasuke's action. Besides, he was forced to use it. Gai, I really need to help him now."_

"_Fine," Gai shifted, folding his hands against his broad chest. "Just remember that by simply copying, you can't make a great shinobi."_

_That simple statement drilled right through Kakashi's conscience; after all, wasn't he the infamous Copy Nin Kakashi? Instead of replying, the silver-haired jounin merely shrugged and prepared to make a set of handseals for transportation jutsu. "Whatever, Gai."_

Okay, so he was not the best of teachers. But everything is about survival if you wanted to be a true ninja; following the code of honour could only be suicide in certain situations. They were required to use whatever way deemed possible to continue on living, and fighting, be it honourable or otherwise. He was just teaching his students how to survive; it was not his fault that some people felt uneasy about it. He didn't give a damn about what people think. Shaking himself out of his brief surge of memory, Kakashi focused his attention to the task at hand. He had drawn the entire inscription needed to perform the seal that would seal the seal that Orochimaru had made on Sasuke. Propping the half-conscious boy into a sitting position, Kakashi was about to bite his thumb when a familiar voice interrupted him halfway.

"The Fuuja Houin, isn't it?"

He whipped his head around, and glared at the raven-haired woman standing a few feet away from them. She had completely taken him by surprise and Kakashi did not like surprises much. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Akki took a step forward, critically eyeing the trails of inscription that Kakashi had made with a smile. "Such an interesting seal you have here. Fifteenth century, from the Grass Country. Founded by the Tokaichi family, if I'm not mistaken."

"Wha—"

"I have a… passion for seals," the woman simply explained, treading closer to the two Konoha shinobi. Her eyes were still trained on the inscription, reading the complicated sequence of unidentifiable words as she went along them. "It's very ingenious of you to remember the whole citation, because I've met several unfortunate people that can never place them rightly."

Kakashi was not interested in anything but Sasuke at that point, and Akki was naught but an unwelcome interruption. He turned to his student once again, deciding to forgo any sort of conversation with the Sun's representative. "I don't have much time here, Daitenshi-san."

She flashed him an amused smile. "But of course, do go on with the ritual. I'm merely here as an observer."

A snarl nearly escaped the jounin's throat but he held it back in time. The woman was still Konoha's guest and being rude to a potential ally was not a very intelligent thing to do. Damn political influence to Hell. Kakashi huffed haughtily and prepared himself to continue with the ritual.

But once again, he was unceremoniously interrupted by the unwanted guest.

"Though I do think that I can suggest a better solution for your student's predicament," Akki said, in the same silky voice that Kakashi had learnt to despise since the first time he heard it. "The Fuuja Houin is not that effective in trapping chakra tainted by evil."

His first reaction was to grit his teeth and chanted something along the line of 'no killing foreign village's representative' and 'breath in, breathe out' mentally. His second was to repeat the first one with an additional 'fuck Orochimaru'. Needless to say, Kakashi was not planning in playing the role of an amiable host for long, if Akki kept on interrupting like that. But what she had said caught his attention, despite making him more annoyed at the woman. The Fuuja Houin was the only way to rein Orochimaru's seal that he could think of and another suggestion from an experienced shinobi (though she sure as hell didn't look like one) was more than welcomed. The jounin paused, and stared wordlessly at Akki, a gesture to urge her to continue.

Knowing that she had Kakashi's attention, Akki glided straight towards the jounin and Sasuke. She kneeled down in front of the youngest Uchiha and tilted the boy's face up with her slender fingers, examining each scars and every exhaustion lines that marred Sasuke's pale face. Kakashi was eyeing the raven-haired woman cautiously, prepared to defend his student if something bad should happen. Akki, perhaps sensing the jounin's stiffness, looked up and smiled at Kakashi in a reassuring manner, before returning to her examination on Sasuke. Once in a while, she would mutter something inaudible and nodded her head. To Kakashi's bewilderment, it seemed as though she was… conversing with something or someone. But as he was the only one there that was not unconscious, it was not possible. Unless she was speaking with something that was invisible to naked eyes. After a few minutes of silence, Akki straightened up and ran a finger around the seal on Sasuke's neck. Her eyes were thoughtful, though unreadable.

"It is worse than what I had first thought," Akki said, looking at Kakashi with a grave expression etched onto her face. "I need more time before I can make the most appropriate suggestion."

The silver-haired jounin frowned at her words. "But time is something that we can't afford to waste right now. Especially with that bastard Orochimaru running around freely out there."

Akki shook her head, blue eyes hardening as she spoke. "That is true, but I'll only ask for one day. Twenty four hours after this, I'll come to you and your student with the best solution for his problem." As if reading what was going on underneath Kakashi's thick mass of silver hair, she warned him with a slight narrowing of eyes. "And no, I can't allow you to perform the Fuuja Houin yet, as I'm afraid that it will influence what I might come up with. Some seals can affect others, usually in a negative way."

Kakashi growled at the demand, his pride a little injured at the authority that laced Akki's statement. "Sasuke is my responsibility right now, not yours. I'm the one who's going to decide whether or not to accept your help."

"Once again, you're right. But," Akki took a step forward, decreasing the distance between Kakashi and her. "Both of us know that he stands better chance if you allow me to help him."

The staring match that ensued afterwards ended up with a draw as both shinobi broke their eye contact when Sasuke groaned. Kakashi exhaled loudly and hefted his student's limp form over his shoulder, before his one visible eye glared at Akki. "Twenty four hours, that's it. One minute more and I'll take everything into my own hands."

"A wise decision," she nodded her approval, dipping her head slightly to show her gratitude. "Now, I suggest that you to send the boy to a comfortable bed; what he needed the most is rest. And make sure that he keeps his emotion in check."

"I know that," Kakashi snapped, preparing to do a teleportation jutsu to the nearest hospital. "Twenty four hours," he said, before disappearing into a puff of chakra jutsu.

Akki sighed, rubbing her temple in weary amusement. _Konoha's shinobi were very interesting, so to say,_ mused the woman silently. _So many varieties of attitudes. _The smile that had decorated her face disappeared in a flash when she spun around, apparently sensing someone's presence besides her in the dark room. The atmosphere suddenly stirred with concealed malice, the tranquillity from before none to be found at that time. There was a flicker of disgust in her azure eyes as she folded her hands over her light brown kimono, staring into the darkness with a penetrating gaze, willing and challenging the unknown to reveal itself. Utter and complete silence followed her action, broken only when a figure clad in dark garment stepped out from the overwhelming fortress of shadows, long black hair swaying behind him.

"Orochimaru."

Said Snake Sannin's thin lips curved into a mocking smirk. "Akki."

"You're not in the position to call me by my given name," the raven-haired woman acidly replied, looking unusually calm and at ease in the presence of the traitor. "Only those that have my respect may do so."

"Still as vain as ever, I see," snapped Orochimaru, his smirk faltering. His posture was one that was readying himself for a battle, a complete contrast against the Sun woman's easy grace.

Akki raised an eyebrow. "And you're still as repulsive as ever. That makes us even."

Orochimaru hissed at the insult, snake-like eyes narrowing. The foreplay was evidently over. "Why are you here? Hadn't that old nuisance you called father decided to sever any contact with outside world?"

"Our political decisions are none of your business, _outsider_," retorted Akki, as she emphasized on the last word. She smiled in satisfaction when the man's face twisted into an ugly scowl in front of her. "I won't ask the same about you, as I have already known what you're after. Revenge again, isn't it? Pathetic, as always."

"My business with Konoha does not concern you," Orochimaru snarled. "Nor does it concern the Sun. Stay out of this."

"Is that a threat?" the amused smile was back on her face, as Akki continued to stare at Orochimaru. "Are you actually threatening _me_?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," the Sannin spat out with much vehemence. He had brought his hands to hook just over his hip, glaring at the woman. "I won't interfere with whatever business you have here, and you won't meddle with mine. A fair trade, I should say."

Akki allowed a breeze of laughter to escape her throat, the sound oddly sharp and contemptuous. "Fair trade?" Her laughter stopped as sudden as it had came, her eyes losing any hint of amusement. She suddenly looked more forbidding, more dangerous, like a dark being that had materialised from the deepest of abysses. "I do not make trades with vile creatures. And I am not about to start right now. But, there is no need to worry. My concern is not this village, but our heir."

Orochimaru's eyes widened, pupils dilating. "Heir?"

"Oops, dear me! Did I just spill my little secret?" Akki placed a finger against her lips in mock horror, smirking at the bristling snakes' summoner. "If revenge is what you sought after, I won't stand in your way. But remember, if our heir somehow, however slightly, gets involved in _your_ mess, I can't promise your safety from my father's wrath. And I will hunt you down myself, mark my words."

"Fine," Orochimaru snapped and he crossed his hand over his chest. "Are you going to tell me who this mysterious heir of yours is?"

The smirk that stretched over the raven-haired woman's face was completely malicious. "_That_ you have to find it out yourself." She tossed her head back, and turned to leave. "You better pray that you're good in guessing. I don't tolerate mistakes, and I don't believe in second chances."

With that, the two very, very different people went their separate ways.

Time will tell if they would meet again.

xxx

"I hate you."

Naruto grinned smugly. "Yes, I know. I hate me too."

"Are you really, _really_ serious about our bet?" Ino asked, pursing her lips into a pout, eyes watering. "Because I was just joking."

"Dead serious," retorted the blonde genin, thumping his chest. "Ramen is not something that you can't deny me to. I _live_ for ramen."

He had walked out of the arena after being announced the winner with a large, expectant grin on his face, directed solely at a cringing Ino. She was clutching an imaginary piggy back to her chest, softly muttering something to herself. It was kinda hilarious. Despite the annoying presence of a smirking Shakaku (whom he ignored as soon as he reached them), Naruto found himself grinning even wider. Not that the ramen counted that much, but it was just too funny to see Ino acting all childish again. He missed that side of her. The sudden thought that maybe he was the one to blame for her lately angsty attitude made Naruto's grin lost a little of it sparkle. He stood besides Ino, looking down at the platinum blonde girl, who was still muttering. Most probably cursing him. She was so predictable sometimes that it was funny.

"Congratulation," Shakaku's voice shook him out of his brief reverie, and Naruto tilted his head so that he was staring directly at the redhead. Raiu had finally decided to show up and joined her teammate, where she was lounging quite nonchalantly next to Shakaku. Her eyes were on the other side of the arena, where Ryuujin was currently snapping at several Medic nins who were trying to help him.

The genin raised the corner of his mouth ever so slightly. "Tough luck for your teammate."

"I can't complain," replied Shakaku with good humour. "Ryuu had fought fairly well; it's a bit of a shame really that he had to fight you of all people. Guess it was just not his luck."

"Wish I'd get a match against you," Naruto said, eyeing the redhead for a reaction. A change of expression. Anything.

What he received was a wide grin. "Maybe you'll get lucky next time. I look forward to that day too."

"Shakaku, it's my turn!"

It was Raiu that cut their conversation short. She was staring up at the electronic board, her green eyes glinting with barely-contained excitement. Her kodachi, the one that she had hooked up on the left side of her hip was vibrating, as if it reflected its owner's anticipation. Naruto, not wanting to miss out on anything, also followed her lead.

_Rock Lee versus Raiu Onimusha_

"YES!"

Twin yells came from both participants, and Naruto mentally groaned as the word echoed across the room, startling other spectators. _Oh shit, not another hyper idiot like this one_. Raiu was already bouncing on the balls of her booted feet, grinning like a madcap. If possible, her spiked green hair looked even spikier, something that would've been impossible to achieve by normal human standard. Before anyone could say anything, she had already sprinted towards the arena happily, the two bells on the scabbard of her kodachi jingling cheerfully behind her. Something _green_ and _orange_ had jumped from the overhanging corridor over their head, followed by a battle cry when the _thing_ landed heavily in the middle of the room, in perfect unison with Raiu's arrival. To everyone's horror, the two strike a pose immediately; Rock Lee in all his bowl-cut glory with the 'Good Guy' pose while Raiu with a blinding grin and a 'V' sign.

The room fell silent almost at once.

The crickets chirped in the background.

A sparrow flew over them in slow motion and shitted on the Sand's instructor.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

Ino gaped.

Shakaku smiled amiably.

xxx

"Did I miss anything?"

Akki came strolling into the stone hall, a pleasant smile plastered on her face. She stopped besides Gai, who was intently cheering on someone in that ungodly voice of his. The self-proclaimed Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha spared a second from his enthusiastic cheering to grin dazzlingly at the raven-haired woman and bellowed, "LADY, FATE HAS DECIDED THAT MY STUDENT AND YOURS SHALL FACE EACH OTHER! I WILL INDEED MARK THIS DAY AS A MEMORABLE ONE IN OUR RELATIONSHIP!"

Much to polite to point out that they had _no_ whatsoever relationship going on, Akki merely nodded her head and diverted her eyes to the middle of the room, where her student and Gai's were both striking poses. Her eyes twinkled with mirth and Akki covered her mouth with her hand, chuckling silently at the genins' antic. Raiu's naiveté had always been one of her favourite students' traits. She noticed that the supposed teacher from the Sand was glaring quite conspicuously at her, to which she ignored the guy's familiar nauseating scent of chakra and focused on the oncoming match. Hayate had resumed his usual nonchalant self after his brief stumble in Naruto's match, and was amusedly coughing his lungs out as he stared at Lee and Raiu with his heavily-bagged eyes.

xxx

Cough. "Rock Lee and Raiu Onimusha." Cough. "Please take your respective positions." Cough hack cough wheeze cough. "Now."

Grin still regrettably in place, Lee turned to direct the blinding light at his opponent and pompously exclaimed, "I am Rock Lee of Konoha! And I'm going to beat you to make Gai-sensei proud!"

"I am Raiu Onimusha of the Sun!" Raiu declared, a grin of her own to match that of Lee's. "And I'm going to beat you to make Shakaku proud!"

Both stood with sparkles and flowers blooming in the background.

From the sideline, Naruto and Ino stared at the still smiling Shakaku with raised eyebrows. The redhead shrugged and said, "She's still in that 'Admire-The-Captain' Stage." As if that would explain everything.

Hayate eyed the two genins with a laughing curve on his pale lips; it was a pleasant and rare experience for him to judge a fight without any feeling of animosity. Usually, the contestants would never hesitate to share colourful profanities or just plain murderous rage and blind hatred towards one another. This change was quite refreshing. He moved a few steps back to give them more room to manoeuvre and raised his hand. "Match… begin!"

Naruto would later contemplate with more spite than amazement how two such ridiculous genins with similar annoyingly hyper optimism could be so unbelievably strong. This would be followed by hours of rigorous training and much cursing from the blonde.

Once Hayate gave the signal for the start of their match, Lee and Raiu had both jumped back, foolish behaviour disappearing in a flash. They were suddenly more matured, and looked every bit of an experienced fighter. Lee was standing erect on one side, one hand on his hip while another held out in his infamous challenging gesture. "Let's show them a fight that they won't forget."

"That works fine with me," replied Raiu, cracking the knuckles of her bandaged hands with a nod. She unattached her kodachi from her hip and unsheathed its gleaming blade, before tossing the scabbard aside. The green-haired kunoichi fell into her fighting style, holding the kodachi in both hands. Her eyes were sharp and watchful under jade fringes. "Here I come!"

With a burst of speed, the Sun genin disappeared from view, only to appear behind Lee and was swinging the blade towards him in a graceful arc. Lee had obviously seen the movement, as he jumped high to avoid the low blow. He twisted in mid air and aimed a kick at Raiu, who had resumed a defensive stance, kodachi held slightly above her head. Ninja sandal pressed heavily against sharpened metal, to which Raiu had flipped, flat surface facing upward so that she could support the sudden weight above her with her other hand. She gave the sword a flick, which forced Lee to jump away from the Sun genin. He landed not far from Raiu, dropping immediately into his own, unique fighting style. Wasting no time, Lee rushed forward, crying out a "Konoha Senpuu!" as his leg swung into the trademark spin kick.

The move connected with Raiu, who had blocked it yet again with her sword. Though the impact had been mostly taken care of, the girl still found herself skidding back, the soles of her boots screeching over the stone floor. She didn't wait until she had fully stopped when she used her Japanese sword as an anchor, leaving a deep trail of cracks that ran over the floor. Lee had retreated after his attack, critically scrutinising his opponent. He waited until Raiu was back on her feet; the kunoichi running a thumb over the sharp edge of her kodachi. She looked up to meet his gaze and flashed him an impressed grin, before brandishing the kodachi like the start of her first attack. There was a long silence that followed their action, where every spectator was eagerly waiting for more of that fast-paced battle. Both did not use any flashy or explosive jutsu, but the fluidity and grace in their movement easily captivated the audience.

Lee blurred out of existence in an astonishing speed, once again trying to dominate his opponent. Faring exceptionally well against her rival, Raiu raised her kodachi and made a thrust at an empty space to her left, where Lee suddenly materialised out of nowhere and slowed down in order to dodge the clean plunge. Raiu changed the direction of her sword with a flick of her wrist, the blade cutting a sharp curve towards Lee. The thick-browed genin immediately bend backwards like an acrobat, his body creating a reversed 'U'. He flipped over out of harm's way and stopped within a safe distance from Raiu, crouching on one knee, with a bandaged hand barely grazing the rough floor. The two genins promptly leapt at one another, exchanging blows after blows in an increasingly fast speed. Sometimes, the only thing that indicated someone had attacked was the chime of blade against the soles of ninja sandals, or a passionate call of triumph from either one of them. It was, by far, one of the most impressive of performances.

xxx

Ino blinked.

And blinked again.

"That was… unbelievable," she breathed out, closing her gaping jaws. She turned to stare at Naruto and hastily asked, "Did you see that?"

The blonde genin simply snorted, though his eyes never leave the arena. "Of course. Lee just landed some pretty serious blows there, though Raiu's not half bad herself. Watch carefully; you might learn something. I think Thick Eyebrow has one of the best taijutsu styles between us genins."

Ino nodded, albeit with a touch of petulance. "I know, I know, _sensei_."

Naruto scowled at the title, though his annoyance was brief. He guessed that he did act pretty much like an old demanding sensei, what with the pattern of speech and shit. His lips curved into a mischievous grin, one that would make anyone sane enough to run to the other side of the world. He turned to Ino and leered, "We're doing some serious training from Hell after this."

The kunoichi gaped at him in disbelief. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Sensei's command," the blonde sniped smugly, immense satisfaction flooded him as he watched the display of colour changes on Ino's face. He deftly avoided a fist that was aimed towards his head, and the low kick. "Ino-chan, you can save the energy for later. Believe me, you'll need it."

"I'm going to murder you," she hissed, homicidal vibes radiating from her battered body as she shook her fist at him. "Cut you into pieces, drown you in the river, burn your bed this night, put a rattlesnake in your training boots, poison your ramen—"

Shakaku offered Naruto (whose face was starting to grow pale as the list went on and on) a sympathetic smile and whispered, "Well, you should give it to her. She has great imagination."

"Yeah, and 'great' is a gross understatement of mass proportion," Naruto retorted, scowling at the close distance between the redhead's face and his. Didn't she know about something called 'personal space', or is shoving her face to complete strangers is one of her favourite pastime activities? "Aren't you supposed to get off my case and support your teammate?"

"Don't be so rude to people, whisker face," Ino snapped, apparently finished with her rant on How to Kill Naruto 101. "She saved you in the Forest, remember?"

"Never asked them to do that," Naruto sullenly replied, folding his hands over his chest.

"It's my pleasure," Shakaku interjected cheerfully and winked at Ino. "Even if we didn't interfere, I'm sure your team would've saved them."

Ino snorted and grinned back at the redhead. "Or Sasuke the Berserker."

"I forgot he existed," sneered Naruto. "Makes you wonder what Kakashi-sensei's doing to him, eh?"

"Ooh, did I just hear something naughty coming from you?" the blonde kunoichi giggled, not even bothering to cover the glint of evil glee in her eyes.

Naruto blinked at the question, while Shakaku simply smirked at his obliviousness. "What the heck are you talking—" And then, the answer came to him, in the form of obscene mental images from a disturbingly explicit magazine he had once had the misfortune to read. He groaned and shook his head. "Shit, Ino! That's my sensei and teammate you're talking about!"

"Well, like you've never heard about teacher-student relationship," shrugged the girl, still giggling helplessly. She was the one who had shown Naruto the magazine in the first place, in vengeance for losing three times in a row to the said genin.

"Too much information," the genin groaned again, his hands clamping down on his ears. He glared death at Ino and snapped, "You do realize that you're giving me sickening mental images, don't you?"

It was Ino's turn to grin. "That's the whole purpose, stupid. My secret 'Mess-With-Your-Opponents'-Heads' no Jutsu, and you're the first to experiment it. Be honoured."

"You're truly an amazing shinobi, Yamanaka-san," Shakaku complimented in amusement.

Ino's grin turned absolutely smug. "Tell me something that I don't know."

xxx

Lee was apparently leading in the match; his condition was loads better than his Sun opponent. He was leagues ahead in speed and stamina, especially after shedding whatever weight he was wearing. There was a triumphant smile on his face as he doubled his attack on Raiu, who was doing worse than when they had begun. Lines of frustration were etched on the green-haired girl's face as she blocked another kick with her kodachi, only to be thrown backwards when Lee followed his kick with a jab to her exposed stomach. There was no question of who had the most advantage in their match of speed, taijutsu level and endurance. The fight was getting one-sided, though Raiu was still holding on and prolonging the match despite her struggle. It was ten minutes later that she finally slumped over in exhaustion, after barely surviving the 'Kill-Your-Opponent-From-The-Impact-Without-Killing-Yourself-In-The-Process' technique from Lee. The thick-browed genin staggered up from the man-made crater, flashing a thumb up at the audience and his beloved Gai-sensei.

Hayate declared the end of the match; victory going to Konoha.

**TBC**

A/N:

Another chapter is out. Am happy with how it turned out to be, though I wished I could've written fighting scene better. Lee deserves a better platform to further exploit his ability. I love Gai-sensei to death; he's just soooo funny! The brief appearance from Orochimaru is fun to write to, though Akki had finally revealed the reason for the Hidden Sun's interest in the Chuunin Exam. Was that enough hint to feed your curiosity, people? And I will be very happy to receive some feedback for this chapter. I don't think I'll be writing more matches; these were enough to fry my brain as it is. Current status is;

Searching…

Searching…

Search completed. Brain not detected.

Now you know.

**Kaara**


	20. End of The Road

To everyone out there that reads this fanfiction of mine,

I'd like to thank you for your reviews and constructive criticism and general support. I appreciate them very, very much, and it pains me to do what I'm about to do right now.

I'm dropping **Fighting All Odds**. This is my project for a very long time, and I just… don't know how to phrase what I'm feeling right now. I love NaruIno, and I will never stop loving this pairing. But I've decided to drop FAO for numerous reasons, and I'm here to inform you of my decision, so that none will wait for the next update.

Consider this a permanent hiatus. I'm really sorry.

I love each and every one of you out there. Thank you for such a fun ride. The experience had been priceless to me.

**Kaara**


End file.
